Appeal Letter to UN Secretary General

Letter of Appeal to the UN Secretary-General
H.E. Kofi A. Annan
Secretary-General
The United Nations

Mr Secretary-General,

As Your Excellency is no doubt aware, the National League for Democracy in Burma has recently announced that it is willing to extend de jure recognition to the ruling military council as a "transitional government", the term of which is to be negotiated, if the Burmese generals agree to convene the Parliament in accordance with the results of the 1990 elections.
We, the citizens of Burma, members of the Burmese communities overseas, and friends of Burma, warmly welcome the initiative by the National League for Democracy to restore peace, stability, and national reconciliation in Burma so that a genuine democratic society can be built in the country.

We join the ethnic and political forces in the country in supporting the National League for Democracy's call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who, the party insists, must be part of all negotiations.

The National League for Democracy has said a prominent leader from ASEAN can be named as a mediator should one be needed at the negotiations and that it will wait for a response until 17 April -- Burmese New Year Day.
Given the flexibility shown by the National League for Democracy particularly at a time when the Burmese generals are unable to fix the problems that pose a threat to the region, we would like to urge
Your Excellency to take appropriate steps to ensure the peace process initiated by the National League for Democracy proceeds as expected so that Burma can rejoin the community of peaceful nations.

Should the military continue to ignore the peace gesture and proceeds with its Roadmap toward legitimizing military rule in Burma, we believe Burma's problems are bound to worsen create havoc in the region.

Under such a situation, we expect Your Excellency to act according to Article 99 of the UN Charter that says, "The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."
We want the UN Security Council, with support from ASEAN countries, to initiate a national reconciliation process in Burma so that all national forces in Burma can become partners in the all-out efforts to resolve
the socioeconomic and political crises which are proving to be beyond the capability of the Burmese military.

Sincerely,

The undersigned: