President Vaclav Havel and Bishop Desmond M. Tutu call on UN Security Council to intervene immediate

Media Release From DLA Piper

DLA Piper Publishes Report Describing Threat to Peace and Security Burma Poses

Copies of the report available from [url=http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk]http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk[/url]

Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, and Desmond M. Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, today issued a groundbreaking report calling for an urgent, new, and multilateral diplomatic initiative at the UN Security Council to bring change to Burma.

The 70-page report, prepared by global law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, compares the situation in Burma to seven other countries in which the Security Council has previously intervened in internal conflicts because of the transnational issues implicated, including Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Haiti – and determines that many of the factors which trigger Security Council intervention are far worse in Burma than in other countries where the Council had previously decided to act.

The report details the deterioration that has occurred in Burma stemming from the rule of the current military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).  In 1990, the then-ruling military regime permitted democratic elections to take place, only to refuse to honor the results when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won over 80 percent of the seats in parliament.  NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who recently turned 60, remains the world’s only Nobel Peace Prize Laureate who is in detention and has spent much of the past 16 years under house arrest.

“For 15 years the Government of Burma has refused to implement recommendations made by the UN and the situation is getting worse,” said President Havel.  “In fact, the situation in Burma is much more severe compared to other countries in which the Security Council has chosen to act in recent years.”

“Quiet closed-door meetings among countries in New York are no longer enough. They have failed,” said Bishop Tutu.  “It is time for the UN Security Council to act. In fact, it is past due.  This report quite clearly evidences the need for multilateral action.  If governments want to talk about the situation in Burma, the time is now and the venue is the Security Council.”

The report, commissioned to provide an objective look at relevant challenges and problems in Burma, can be obtained in its entirety at [url=http://www.dlapiper.com]http://www.dlapiper.com[/url]

About DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has 2,900 lawyers in 53 offices in 20 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, mainland Europe and Asia, offering leading practices in commercial, corporate and finance, human resources, litigation, real estate, regulatory and legislative, and technology, media and communications.  More information about DLA Piper is available at [url=http://www.dlapiper.com]http://www.dlapiper.com[/url]

Copies of the report available from [url=http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk]http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk[/url]

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