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MYANMAR
Parliamentarians reportedly still serving their sentences:
CASE No. MYN/04 - KHIN MAUNG SWE
CASE No. MYN/13 - SAW NAING NAING
CASE No. MYN/35 - SAW HLAING
CASE No. MYN/60 - ZAW MYINT MAUNG
CASE No. MYN/104 - KYAW KHIN
CASE No. MYN/118 - THAN NYEIN
CASE No. MYN/119 - MAY WIN MYINT
CASE No. MYN/133 - YAW HIS
CASE No. MYN/215 - AUNG SOE MYINT
CASE No. MYN/234 - THAN HTAY
CASE No. MYN/236 - KHUN TUN OO
CASE No. MYN/237 - KYAW SAN
CASE No. MYN/238 - KYAW MIN
Parliamentarians who died in custody:
CASE No. MYN/53 - HLA THAN
CASE No. MYN/55 - TIN MAUNG WIN
CASE No. MYN/72 - SAW WIN
CASE No. MYN/83 - KYAW MIN
CASE No. MYN/131 - HLA KHIN
CASE NO. MYN/132 - AUN MIN
Parliamentarians who were assassinated:
CASE No. MYN/66 - WIN KO
CASE No. MYN/67 - HLA PE

Resolution adopted by consensus by the IPU Governing Council at its 179th session
(Geneva, 18 October 2006)


The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned members-elect of the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly) of the Union of Myanmar, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/179/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 178th session (May 2006),

Recalling its long-standing concerns regarding the complete lack of respect for the results of the election of 27 May 1990, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of the 485 seats, and the continuous elimination from the political process of a large number of parliamentarians-elect by various means, including arbitrary arrest, detention and sentencing under laws infringing basic international human rights standards, and pressure to resign from the NLD and so relinquish their status as elected members of parliament,

Recalling that, on 30 August 2003, General Khin Nyunt announced a "road map" for Myanmar's future, which as a first step included the reconvening on 17 May 2004 of the National Convention on the basis of the same detailed blueprint for a unitary, military-dominated State which had guided the Convention when it was first set up in 1993; that, according to the source, Order 5/96, which penalizes any criticism of the National Convention, is still in force; that the NLD decided not to participate and to make its participation conditional on fulfilment of five minimum requirements to ensure democratic and inclusive progress respectful of basic human rights, none of which conditions have been met; considering that the National Convention was due to reopen on 10 October 2006,

Considering that, with respect to the National Convention, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in his latest report (E/CN.4/2006/34), stated that he was "deeply dismayed to learn that no progress has been made since the previous session. Procedural conditions and restrictions remain, legitimate political representatives are not included and apparently the concerns of the ethnic parties have not been addressed. No deviation from the preordained agenda and defined principles set by the Government has been reportedly accepted",

Recalling that, in February 2006, the NLD called for the authorities to convene the parliament on the basis of the 1990 election results in order that, in turn, it could declare the current authorities to be the legitimate transitional government pending new elections and the establishment of a democratic government; the appeal includes a call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and her inclusion in the negotiations and suggests a mediator's role for a prominent leader from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the appeal has remained unanswered by the authorities,

Recalling further the many parliamentary initiatives throughout the world in favour of the parliamentarians-elect and the promotion of democracy in Myanmar in general, and in particular the work of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar,

Recalling finally that an informal briefing on the situation in Myanmar before the United Nations Security Council took place in December 2005 and that the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, carried out an official three-day visit (18-20 May 2006) to Myanmar on which he briefed the Security Council on 31 May 2006; noting that "the situation in Myanmar" was an agenda item for the Security Council's meeting of 29 September 2006,

  1. Reaffirms its conviction that the National Convention, in its present form, is designed to prolong and legitimize military rule against the will of the people as expressed in the 1990 elections, and that any transition towards democracy will fail so long as it is not genuinely free, transparent and reflective of the people's will, and preceded by the unconditional release of all political prisoners and the lifting of all restrictions on human rights and political activity;

  2. Is deeply concerned at the lack of any willingness on the part of the authorities to address these concerns; urges them once again to release the 13 parliamentarians-elect still imprisoned forthwith and to engage in a genuine dialogue with those who were elected in the 1990 elections, in particular by giving serious consideration to the proposal made by the NLD;

  3. Remains convinced that strong action by the international community is crucial in helping bring about respect of democratic principles in Myanmar; welcomes in this regard recent developments at the Security Council and calls on the parliaments of the countries which are members of the Security Council to press their governments to ensure the continuing consideration of the situation in Myanmar by the Security Council; also calls again on the Member Parliaments of the IPU, in particular China and India as neighbouring countries, to pursue and strengthen their national, regional and international initiatives in favour of the parliamentarians-elect and in support of respect for democratic principles in Myanmar, and encourages the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar to continue its important work;

  4. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and to all others concerned;

  5. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 116th Assembly (April-May 2007).
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