Ber­gen, Nor­way, 25 Sep­tem­ber 2007
Nor­we­gi­an Minis­ter of For­eign Affairs
Ambas­sador of the Rus­sian Federa­tion to Nor­way
Ambas­sador of the People’s Repub­lic of Chi­na to Nor­way
Ambas­sador of India to Nor­way
Nor­we­gi­an Ambas­sador to the Uni­ted Nations

Your Excel­len­cies,

Urgent request con­cer­ning Bur­ma (Myan­mar)
On behalf of the Rafto foun­da­tion for human rights, I here­by extend a strong request for your govern­ments to take imme­dia­te action to secu­re that the unrest cur­rent­ly unfol­ding in Bur­ma (Myan­mar) is resolved in a peace­ful man­ner.

Along with many obser­vers in the inter­na­tio­nal com­mu­ni­ty, I fear that the ten­se situa­tion unfol­ding at this very moment in Ran­goon and other Burme­se cities may end in trage­dy for the citizens exer­ci­sing their human right to free speech and poli­ti­cal par­ti­ci­pa­tion, and for the poli­ti­cal futu­re of the coun­try as a whole.

The pro­blems of the Burme­se peop­le can­not be solved by furt­her repres­sion of the poli­ti­cal oppo­sition in the coun­try. I the­re­fore urge you to issue an imme­dia­te and pub­lic demand addressed to the govern­ment of Bur­ma, requi­ring that the oppo­sition be inclu­ded in tal­ks aimed at refor­ming the poli­ti­cal insti­tu­tions of the coun­try in a man­ner con­du­ci­ve for achie­ving improved living con­ditions and respect for human rights for all its citizens.

Sign.

Arne Lilje­dahl Lynn­gård
Chair­man of the Rafto Foun­da­tion