Burma democracy protests outside Chinese embassies
A coalition of charities, including Amnesty International, called for demonstrations outside diplomatic missions in Bangkok, Sydney, London, Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Vienna, Washington, Toronto, New York, Brasilia and Cape Town.
Up to 80 protesters gathered outside the London embassy, seeking to put pressure on Chinese authorities to do more to persuade Burma to give ground to democracy activists.
Elsewhere the turnout was lower, with 10 reported in Sydney and 20 in Bangkok. In Europe about 30 people gathered in Paris, in Berlin monks staged a three-hour march, and in Vienna a planned demonstration was called off.
Organisers played down the small crowds.
“We weren’t going for turnout,” Mark Farmaner, acting director of Burma Campaign UK said, noting that they had “big numbers” at an international day of action on October 6.
“This was about drawing international attention to the situation,” he added.
The anniversary was marked by political declarations, including a letter signed by six female Nobel Peace Prize winners demanding their fellow laureate’s release.
“The Burmese regime must not be allowed to continue in its perpetration of gross violations of human rights,” they wrote in a letter to Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
British prime minister Gordon Brown marked the 12th anniversary with a message posted on his Downing Street website.
“The steps that the regime must now take are clear: end the violence; release prisoners... and engagement in a UN-led process of national reconciliation that involves leaders of all Burma’s political opposition and ethnic groups, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he wrote.
The 12 years is the total of her spells of detention, protest organisers said.
Outside the Chinese embassy in London, protesters chanted slogans including “Chinese government gain, Burma pays,” carrying out pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi and banners “Free Aung San Suu Kyi now.”
