(Continued from page 26)
"The ABSDF strongly condemns the university closures in Burma. These closures consti-
tute the regime's desperate attempts to put down student demonstrations, instead of
responding to underlying problems. The ABSDF therefore demands that all universities
be reopened, and that basic student rights, including the right to assembly and the right
to free expression, be respected. The ABSDF supports the students' calls for better edu-
cation. " We believe that education is a vital investment in Burma's future, especially
given the effects of globalization",
Aung Thu Nyein, General Secretary of ABSDF.
Excerpt from the statement of All Burma Students' Democratic Front. (6.2.2000)
" The situation in Burma is getting worse, and I would like to point out only one thing,
because in Burma today everything is in a war situation, Economy, Human Rights viola-
tions, political repression. But what I would like to say is very important, in the sense it
is the future of Burma. The young people in Burma have now no chance to take part in
educational activities. The schools have been closed since 1996 December. And we still
don't know how or when they will be open again. So this we would like the international
community to know about, the real situation in Burma. The Burmese young people and
we would like to support our efforts for opening the universities and schools in Burma."
Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of Exile Government of Burma.
Transcript from Open School Campaign Video Message.
"Frankly I find it extraordinary that the rulers of a country should close down the institu-
tions that are the guarantee of the future of the country, The Universities, the school
system. It is extraordinary that the army in Burma close down the universities, deny
their own country, deny a future for their own country, only for political reasons, in try-
ing to suppress the students, the voice of the generations to come. Even in the worse
dictatorships around the world that we can think of, such as in Iraq, or in North Korea, I
have never heard of a regime closing down completely a university. This is a crime, A
crime against the country, A crime against the future of the country."
Jose Ramos-Horta, 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate
Transcript from Open School Campaign Video Message.
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Campaign Committee for Open School - Statement 1/2000
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