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On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's 64th Birthday
Friday, 19 June 2009
Makati City, PHILIPPINES June 19, 2009 --  About one hundred activists and supporters of the Free Burma Coalition – Philippines (FBC-Phils) trooped to the SPDC Myanmar Embassy to celebrate the 64th birthday of Burma’s democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to demand for her immediate and unconditional release from illegal detention.

Chanting the slogan, “Aung San Suu Kyi, Not Guilty!” the rallyists from the trade union, urban poor, youth/student, human rights workers and informal workers’ sectors brought with them floral arrangements bearing the words “NOT GUILTY” and a birthday cake with two candles formed in number 64.  The activity is held as part of the simultaneous global actions celebrating Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday.
 
Protect the Human Rights of Internally-displaced persons
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
The Initiatives for International Dialogue expresses grave concern over the blatant violation of human rights of the internally displaced persons in Maguindanao who continue to receive the blow in the obsession for a military solution to the conflict in Mindanao.  Maguindanao is one of the five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The question on how best to protect civilians from forced displacement continues to be an issue of grave concern to all of us.  Apparently, the situation in the conflict affected areas in Mindanao showcases the lack of effective national and international responses to the issue.
 
Stop the Humanitarian Crisis in Mindanao
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
We express grave concern on the recent spate of conflict in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which has forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes.

Both sides of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government have accused each other of violating a fragile truce signed in 2001.  Today, thousands of people are again cramped in evacuation centers, joining the increasing number of internally displaced persons in Mindanao.  Some lost their family members to the war, while most are forced to leave home.
 
democratization burma
In recent years, Burma took the spotlight of international criticism because of its dismal human rights record and international crimes.The continued detention of the well-known political prisoner, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is also a concern of the international community. The junta has introduced a roadmap to democracy, but at the same time continues to hold more than a thousand political prisoners.

IID believes that national reconciliation in Burma should begin with a genuine tripartite dialogue between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the democratic opposition led by Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and the representatives of the non-Burman ethnic minorities. With each group being given equal status and representation, the tripartite dialogue could be a meaningful instrument to start genuine and substantial democratic reforms inside Burma.