The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the cases 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/183/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 182nd session (April 2008),

Referring also to the resolution adopted by the 117th IPU Assembly (Geneva, October 2007) entitled “The urgent need to immediately stop the widespread human rights violations and to restore the democratic rights of the people of Myanmar”,

Recalling its long-standing concerns about:

• the complete disregard for the results of the election of 27 May 1990, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of the 485 seats;

• the continuous removal from the political process of many parliamentarians-elect by various means, as a result of which numerous parliamentarians-elect have been imprisoned, in some instances their detention having been continuously extended without their ever having appeared in court, as in the cases of Dr. May Win Myint and Dr. Than Nyein, whose health, together with that of U Kyaw San, remains highly precarious;

• the violent repression by the military regime of the widespread protests in Myanmar in August and September 2007; the repression was denounced on many occasions by the international community, inter alia by the IPU at its 117th Assembly (Geneva, October 2007); between 3,000 and 4,000 protestors, including 17 parliamentarians-elect, were arrested; while 12 have since been released, the remaining five, except for Mr. Saw Lin, whose trial is pending, have been sentenced on account of their participation in the peaceful demonstrations; one of those parliamentarians-elect, Mr. Than Lwin, was ill-treated with total impunity by the regime's paramilitary group;

• the National Convention, an assembly chiefly consisting of members hand-picked by the authorities; the National Convention completed its work to draft a new Constitution, which gives the military sweeping and overriding powers, in early September 2007 without allowing a free exchange of opinions and ideas and criminalizing any criticism of its work; the authorities announced that the document would be put to a public referendum on 10 May 2008 and turned down a United Nations offer to provide international monitoring for the referendum,

Considering that on 23 September 2008, the military authorities released some 9,000 prisoners, including parliamentarians-elect Than Nyein, May Win Myint, Khin Maung Shwe and Aung Soe Myint; on 12 August 2008, parliamentarians-elect U Nyi Pu and Tin Min Htut were arrested at their houses; they were both signatories of a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon at the end of July 2008, in which they declared their opposition to the 2010 elections and expressed concern about the United Nations stance on Myanmar; on 2 October 2008, parliamentarian Ohn Kyaing was arrested by the police,

Considering that the United Nations Secretary-General is scheduled to travel to Myanmar before the end of 2008,

1. Recalls that, as a result of the abominable prison conditions and treatment in Myanmar, six parliamentarians-elect have died in custody or soon after their release and that the health of several of the parliamentarians-elect still in detention is highly precarious; remains deeply concerned that 17 parliamentarians-elect are languishing in prison on the basis of legal provisions that blatantly disregard their most basic rights;

2. Is deeply concerned that even when parliamentarians-elect are released, as in the case of the recent and long-awaited release of four of them, similar numbers of parliamentarians-elect are detained, often rearrested, by the authorities; considers that this situation, rather than giving weight to the claim by the authorities that they genuinely wish to move towards political change, merely adds to the state of fear and arbitrariness in Myanmar;

3. Urges the authorities to release all 17 parliamentarians forthwith and to refrain from any further political harassment;

4. Reaffirms its long-standing conviction that the National Convention, owing to how it was set up and functioned, was illegitimate from the start and bound to produce a text that would fail to reflect the democratic values to which the people of Myanmar have long aspired; considers that the widespread and grave irregularities which have been reported with respect to the referendum on the draft Constitution have only confirmed initial concerns that it would take place in a climate of fear, repression, distrust and total lack of transparency, thus turning the whole exercise into a deliberate attempt to erect a democratic façade for sustained military power;

5. Stresses once again that any transition to democracy will fail so long as it is not genuinely free and transparent, does not reflect the people's will, and is not preceded by the unconditional release of all political prisoners and the lifting of all restrictions on human rights and political activity;

6. Urges again the authorities to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups for the purpose of initiating a genuine democratic transition in Myanmar; calls on the authorities to take the necessary steps without further delay and to cooperate fully in this respect with the United Nations;

7. Appeals to the international community to persevere in its united stand to promote change in Myanmar and publicly to express its rejection of the referendum process and outcome in the current circumstances, and appeals especially to the Member Parliaments of the IPU, in particular China and India as neighbouring countries, to lend their full support in this respect;

8. Appeals more particularly to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), through its Secretary-General, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, to take any measures that may lead to the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, and refers in this respect to the 117th IPU Assembly's recommendation that ASEAN consider suspending Myanmar's membership until such time as the process of reconciliation with the forces of democracy gains momentum;

9. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and to all other parties concerned;

10. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 120th Assembly of the IPU (April 2009).

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1 - He remains in detention and is being tried.

2 - On 2 April 2008, MPU-Burma stated that Mr. Myint Thein had died following his release, as his health had seriously worsened during his detention.

* - Meanwhile sentenced to prison terms.

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