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Help the people of Burma! Stand with them in solidarity!
27 September 2007
The events in Burma in the past month have been extraordinary. Up to 100,000 people have taken to the streets, defying one of the most brutal military regimes in the world, to demand their rights.
With protests in Burma, led by Buddhist monks and nuns, gathering momentum in recent days the military junta has now reacted with ferocious assaults on the demonstrators. The Federation of Trade Unions of Burma, an associated organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), reports today (27 Sept. 2007) that one monk has been killed by the military, and violent confrontations have taken place in several locations, notably around the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon. Some 700 students, monks and nuns have been beaten by riot police with batons, and at least 20 teargas canisters and a similar number of live bullets have been fired by police in the vicinity of the Pagoda. Other sources indicate that as many as four people may have been killed, and several hundred arrested.
We, the workers of Australia, stand in solidarity with the people of Burma to show our support. Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA and the ACTU, as well as supporting the many rallies going on around Australia, would also like to provide material support to the workers of Burma, so that they are equipped to join the other protestors in solidarity.
Trade unions are illegal in Burma, however there is an active 'union movement' operating in exile who have been courageously supporting workers inside Burma to organise.
In line with the ITUC's agenda, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA and the ACTU have decided to support the workers of Burma by raising funds. These funds will go to:
- Assisting workers in Burma with communication tools so that they may communicate with each other and the outside world
- Supporting the workers and their families should they be incarcerated by the regime.
Please pledge your support for the people of Burma by donating to the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Appeal for the workers of Burma, today!
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