香港爭取緬甸自由聯盟

[捐款呼籲]  緬甸邊境內戰　難民大舉逃亡

緬甸在11月7日舉行大選，聯合國秘書長潘基文批評選舉缺乏「包容性、參與性、透明度」，令國際失望。與此同時，不公平的選舉規則觸發了緬甸克倫邦 (Karen State)民兵及緬甸軍隊的內戰，近萬克倫族人流離失所，並逃亡至泰國邊境。據估計，隨後幾天，難民人數會再度增加。詳情請參照附件報導。

緬甸境外團體Burma Partnership指難民現在雖然有安身之處，但缺乏食物及基本生活用品，如：帳篷、地蓆等。由於情況緊急，懇請各位為緬甸難民提供協助。請大家在11月19日前將捐款寄回九龍旺角道11號藝旺商業大廈10字樓香港基督徒學會收。（支票抬頭「香港基督徒學會」或 HONG KONG CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE）支票背面請註明「支援緬甸克倫族難民」。

如有查詢，請致電：香港爭取緬甸自由聯盟聯絡人陳小姐（電話：6756 8964）/ 香港基督徒學會黃小姐（電話：2398 1699）。

謝謝！

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聯合國秘書長潘基文批評，緬甸20年來的首次大選透明度不足，又關注選舉後出現的暴力衝突。
由於克倫族武裝和政府軍發生衝突，超過1萬名族人逃離家園，越過邊境進入泰國，當中包括大量婦孺。
克倫族武裝組織周日在緬甸東部的渺瓦底鎮，衝入政府大樓以抗議投票活動，引發雙方的衝突，據報多人死亡。
緬甸共有135個民族，克倫族是第二大民族，佔總人口8%，幾十年來一直在爭取獨立和自治。
緬甸的少數民族團體在大選前幾天就警告，如果軍政府試圖強行實施他們高度集權的憲法，剝奪少數民族的權利，緬甸就可能爆發內戰。
緬甸反對派對投票進行了杯葛。而本次投票過程中，政府禁止進行競選拉票活動，而且有報道說投票人數非常少。
雖然目前點票仍在進行，但據信兩個親軍政府的政黨應該會獲得多數。
聯合國秘書長潘基文發表聲明，指緬甸的投票選民範圍、參與性與透明度都不夠。他呼籲該國釋放昂山素姬以及超過2000名政治犯，令大選真正成為一個「嶄新的開始」。
緬甸軍政府指出，本次大選意味著從軍政府到民主政府的過渡。不過西方國家對此作出抨擊，稱緬甸的這次大選「既不自由，也不公正」，不符合自由選舉的國際標準。
然而一些分析人士表示，雖然這次大選存在很多弊端，但仍然有可能會是邁向民主的第一步。
（法新社、英國廣播公司）

附件二：緬甸大選後爆衝突 約2萬民眾逃至泰國 (台灣中央廣播電台  2010年11月9日)
撰稿‧編輯：季平 　　新聞引據： 採訪、法新社

泰國官員9日表示，緬甸舉行20年來首次大選後，政府軍與少數民族反抗軍爆發衝突，約有2萬名緬甸人跨越邊界、逃至泰國境內避難。

泰國來興省(Tak)省長沙馬德(Samard Loyfar)說，超過1萬5,000名民眾從緬甸克倫邦(Karen)的米瓦迪鎮(Myawaddy)逃出，進入泰國達省的美索鎮(Mae Sot)。

在此同時，泰國北碧省(Kanchanaburi)首長賈姆拉斯(Jamras Srangnoi)表示，約5,000名緬甸人於8日跨界進入泰國避難，不過，其中的許多人後來已返回緬甸。

緬甸7日舉行全國性大選，根據報導，大約300名東北部的少數克倫族反抗軍8日與政府軍在米瓦迪鎮爆發衝突，造成3人死亡、11人受傷。

附件三：Thousands flee Burma border clash, as votes are counted (BBC News 8 November 2010)

Burma: Battle for Democracy
Thousands have fled across the Burmese border to escape clashes between troops and ethnic Karen rebels, a day after the first election in 20 years.
Thai officials said more than 10,000 people had fled the fierce fighting in and around the town of Myawaddy.
It erupted on Sunday in a protest linked to the election.
The poll, which was boycotted by the main opposition group, was marred by campaign restrictions, reports of irregularities and low turnout.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said voting conditions had been "insufficiently inclusive, participatory and transparent".
In a statement, he called on the ruling generals to turn the poll into a "a new beginning" by freeing Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners.
Votes are still being counted, but two parties closely linked to the ruling military junta are expected to do well.
The poll is the first in Burma since 1990, when Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy secured an overwhelming victory but was never allowed to take power.
The junta says the election marks the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy, but the poll has been widely condemned as a sham. Western governments say it was neither free nor fair.
Despite this, some analysts say the election - although deeply flawed - could mark the start of a process of democratisation, by giving opposition lawmakers a voice, however limited, in the institutional decision-making process.
Border force
Tensions surrounding the poll spilled into violence on Monday in the town of Myawaddy, on the Thai border, in a clash between a Karen rebel faction and government troops.
Ethnic groups in Burma have been demanding - without success - greater regional autonomy from the majority Burman-led central government since independence from Britain in 1948. Many have suffered persecution at the hands of the government.
A splinter group of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, known as Brigade 5, briefly occupied a police station and polling booth on Sunday in a show of opposition to the government's plan to incorporate ethnic armies into a centrally-controlled border force.
In response, Burmese government troops gathered and clashes broke out early on Monday.
There were reports of stray shells landing on the Thai side of the border, injuring at least eight people, and unconfirmed reports of deaths.
Clashes have now spread further south to the Three Pagodas Pass and the Thai army says it is sending reinforcements to the area.
Thai officials say more than 10,000 refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed the border to escape the fighting.
"Army, police and civil authorities have prepared an area to accommodate them 5km (three miles) from the border," said Samart Loyfah, governor of Thailand's Tak province.
Low turnout
It is not yet clear when election results will be released.
Burma's state-run media has described the poll as a successful, smoothly-run process.
Voters were electing candidates to a two-chamber parliament and 14 regional assemblies.
More than two-thirds of the 3,000 candidates were running for two parties closely linked to the military junta.
Turnout for the election was reportedly low.
A BBC correspondent in Burma's largest city, Rangoon, described the atmosphere on Sunday as subdued, with no queues at polling stations.
Some voters told the BBC they could not vote in private, while opposition groups alleged many state employees had been pressured to vote in advance for the main pro-military party.
The NLD, and party leader Ms Suu Kyi - who remains under house arrest - boycotted the polls because of election laws they said were unfair.
The constitution reserves more than a quarter of seats in the new parliament for the army.
Dozens of senior officers have recently "retired" to stand for the government-approved Union Solidarity and Development Party - by far the strongest party.
The combined force of these two groups will likely mean that they have an effective veto over legislation.
Western nations have criticised the conduct of the election; US President Barack Obama said it had not met "internationally accepted standards", while the UK said the results were "a foregone conclusion".