Burma, a country of around 47 million people is ruled by fear. A military machine of 500,000 soldiers denies a whole nation its most basic rights. Aung San Suu Kyi, pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, symbolises the struggle of Burma’s people to be free.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 82% of the seats in elections held in 1990. The people of Burma overwhelmingly rejected military rule yet the military continues to refuse to transfer power to Burma’s democratically elected leaders.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent a total of more than 14 years under house arrest. When she was released in May 2002, there was widespread hope that it would be a step towards democracy in Burma and lead to serious political reform. However, during a tour of northern Burma in 2003, Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters were attacked by a government sponsored mob. The attack took place in Depayin on 30 May 2003. As many as 70 people were killed in the attack and over 100 people arrested, including Aung San Suu Kyi. National League for Democracy (NLD) offices throughout the country have been closed. Aung San Suu Kyi remained in secret detention for over three months. She is currently under house arrest in Rangoon.She is allowed no visitors, her phone line has been cut, and her post is intercepted. She is being denied access to regular medical care.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s message is a simple one - that only by fighting fear can you truly be free - a message Burma’s military fears and aims to silence.

• The widespread use of forced labour
• Over 1 million people forced from their homes
• At least 2,100 political prisoners, many of whom are routinely tortured
• As many as 70,000 child soldiers - more than any other country in the world.
• Rape as a weapon of war against ethnic women and children
• Nearly half the government budget spent on the military and just 19p per person per year on health
• One in ten babies die before their fifth birthday

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), a United Nations agency, charge Burma’s regime with a ‘crime against humanity’ for its widespread and systematic use of forced labour.

The ILO describes how men, women, children and the elderly are forced to labour on roads, railways and other construction projects. They also face punishments which include: “money demands, physical abuse, beatings, torture, rape and murder”

The military has sought foreign investment in order to rescue it from bankruptcy. A worrying consequence of the investment is the way it has provided foreign currency which has helped the regime to expand the army - in turn helping it to maintain power.

Currently the regime has around 500,000 military personnel. A country of only 50 million people has one of the largest armies in Asia yet has no external enemies.

The NLD, ethnic nationalities, students and monks continue to resist the regime despite a highly repressive political environment. The campaign for a democratic Burma has become international and continues to grow in strength.

Pressure from campaigns across the world has forced a long list of companies to withdraw from Burma. These include: British American Tobacco, Texaco, Levi Strauss,Triumph International, Premier Oil and many others.

However, companies like TOTAL Oil (of France) and Chevron (of the USA) are major investors in Burma. The Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) aims to pressure companies like these to withdraw from Burma and cease their support for the regime.

The United States has imposed tough economic sanctions on Burma. These include a ban on new investment, an asset freeze, a restriction on dollar transactions and a ban on most Burmese imports into the United States.

The UK government is a strong critic of the regime but despite supporting Aung San Suu Kyi’s call for targeted economic sanctions in opposition, the government has failed to impose them. Despite repeated calls from the democracy movement, the European Union has failed to impose sanctions that have had any significant impact on the regime’s financial interests.

Burma’s democracy movement is also calling for action by the United Nations Security Council.

On September 20th 2005 Vaclav Havel and Desmond Tutu published a report, Threat to the Peace: A call for the UN Security Council to act in Burma. The report found that Burma fits the criteria for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) intervention. It calls on UNSC members to pass a resolution requiring the regime to work with the United Nations in restoring democracy to Burma, and to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all prisoners of conscience. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, has backed the report, and called on governments to act.