Burma protests: comment

27 September 2007

Commenting on the continuing pro-democracy protests in Burma, David Cockroft, ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) General Secretary said: “Burma’s ruling junta is a government in name only. Its time is long over. It must go.”

He continued: “For years the international trade union movement has been at the forefront of the campaign to isolate and boycott this hateful regime - despite all those who have found excuses to continue dealing with it. That campaign continues with even greater urgency now. In the next few days trade unionists around the world will take their protests to Burmese embassies and once again pledge their support for all those fighting for democracy in that country. Their bravery is an example to us all.”

“There is one message that we are hearing again and again from our contacts inside the country: the violence has to stop, the government has to go. Everyone except the junta is backing a peaceful transition to democracy.” (see update on events in Burma and statement from the ITF member union the Seafarers’ Union of Burma, below).

“As usual the junta has responded in the only way it knows - savagely, with batons, bullets and gas grenades. But its brutality is wasted. The people of Burma are too many and too desperate for justice to be cowed by violence. All the regime has done is to reveal to the wider world their moral and political bankruptcy.”

The ITF is one of the Global Union Federations which have campaigned against the Burmese Government (see www.global-unions.org/burma/default3.asp), along with the ITUC (see press release Burma: Military Violence Against Protesters – ITUC Organising Global Action at www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?rubrique15).

The TUC has called a demonstration in London tomorrow (Friday) from 12.00 to 13:00 at the Embassy of the Union of Myanmar, 19A Charles Street, London W1J 5DX.

 

ENDS

For more information contact ITF press officer, Sam Dawson.
Direct line: + 44 (0)20 7940 9260.
Email: dawson_sam@itf.org.uk

International Transport Workers' Federation - ITF:
HEAD OFFICE
ITF House, 49 - 60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DS
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7403 2733
Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7375 7871
Email: mail@itf.org.uk
Web: www.itfglobal.org

Back to current press releases