All Burma Monks Thank You PDF

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For more information regarding The All Burma Monks’ Alliance Corporation, visit our websiteat:www.allburmamonksalliance.orgThe All Burma Monks’ Alliance is a not-for-profit organization registered in theState of New York, but donations are not yet eligible for federal tax deductions.

ALL BURMA MONKS’ ALLIANCE

1517 Elm StreetUtica, NY 13501

May There Be No Deceptionof One Another

May Loving Kindness Envelop the World and May There bePeaceon Earth

Senator Jim Webb September 30, 2009ChairmanSubcommittee on East Asian and Pacific AffairsSenate Committee on Foreign RelationsUnited States of AmericaSenator Webb,On behalf of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance, which was an instrumental in staging peaceful protests of Buddhist Monks in Burma in September 2007, I would like to submit an article written by me which isattached for the official record of the hearing you will chair on September 30, 2009, 2:30 pm at 419Dirksen Office Building.I am greatly disappointed that no Buddhist Monks or members of Burma’s democracy movement wereinvited to testify in this hearing. The Burmese military regime has attempted to silence our voices, andthis hearing would have presented a strong opportunity for the Senate to hear directly from the legitimateleaders of Burma.I was in prison twice: three years between 1990 and 1993, and seven years between 1998 and 2005. I wasarrested, severely tortured, forcibly disrobed and unfairly imprisoned for my peaceful activities, joiningtogether with my fellow monks in calling for the regime to stop human rights violations in Burma and tostart a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with thedemocratic opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prizerecipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.I was a founding member of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), which led the peaceful protest of monks and nuns in Burma in September 2007. As you are aware, Burma’s military regime brutallycrushed the monks’ movement, killed many monks and arrested and imprisoned many more. I managed toescape to the Thailand-Burma border and then reached the United States as a refugee.I wrote this article in August when you visited Burma, met with the dictator Than Shwe, and brought Mr.Yettaw back from the prison. I hope my opinion, which is also shared by my fellow monks inside andoutside Burma, will be included in the subcommittee’s examination of the effectiveness of U.S. policytoward Burma.Sincerely yours,Venerable Ashin Pyinya ZawtaExecutive Directorin ExileAll Burma Monks’ Alliance1517 Elm Street, Utica, NY 13501http://allburmamonksalliance.org/

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CONTRIBUTOR

Webb’s Misguided Views

By U PYINYA ZAWTAWednesday, August 26, 2009 at The Irrawaddyhttp://www.irrawaddy.org/opinion_story.php?art_id=16637&page=2August 31, 2009 at The Huffington Posthttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/u-pyinya-zawta/jim-webb-woefully-unaware_b_273166.htmlUS Sen Jim Webb recently traveled to Burma to lean not on Burma's military regime, but topressure my country's democracy movement into giving up economic sanctions—the mostimportant tool in our struggle for freedom.Although he emphasized the necessity of the release of Aung San Suu Kyi,this falls far shortof the demands of the US, the United Nations and the European Unionfor the immediate andunconditional release of all my country's 2,100 political prisoners.Webb's ignorance of the situation in my country was revealed his book "

A Time to Fight

" inwhichhe came down squarely on the side of the oppressors in Burma. He wrote about thedemonstrations which took place in Burma in 2007, led by Buddhist monks such as myself."If Westerners had remained in the country this moment might never have occurred, because it isentirely possible that conditions may have improved rather than deteriorated."Webb's statement is either shockingly naïve or willfully misleading. We Buddhist monks, whoWebb discounts as a "throng," marched for an end to military dictatorshipin Burma not becausewe wanted marginal improvements in our economy. We marched because we believe in freedomand democracy and are willing to make sacrifices to reach those goals.Webb claims that the Burmese people would benefit from interaction with the outside world, asif we need to be condescendingly "taught" by Americans about our rights and responsibilities.Had Webb spent some time with real Burmese people apart from the military regime and otherswho share his views, he would better understand the sacrifice we made for democracy, and hewould know that we Burmese value the longstanding support we have had from the USCongress.Webb, an author, has proven extremely manipulative in his use of language, calling for"engagement" and "interaction" instead of sanctions. His implication is that the Burmese peopleare solely set on sanctions and confrontation—the exact same language used by Burma's militaryregime, which couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is that the world is not as black andwhite as Webb would have it. We want the United States to talk to and negotiate with Burma'smilitary regime, but this shouldn't preclude increasing international pressure. The US appears tobe able to carry out this policy with other countries such as in North Korea where it is willing totalk to the North Koreans while at the same time increasing sanctions if Pyongyang doesn'trespond. Webb is intent on driving a wedge into this process in the case of Burma. We must

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