1. The peoples of Burma have been suffering untold miseries for more than 40 years under successive and increasingly oppressive military regimes ever since 1962. In 26 years under the military dictatorship led by Gen. Ne Win, the country was reduced to one of the poorest countries in the world and the country had to apply for the Least of Least Developed Countries, in 1987. In 1988, the military brutally gunned down thousands of peaceful demonstrators in the countrywide pro-democracy movement.

2. To appease the restive populace, a general election was held in May 1990. When the opposition parties won a landslide victory in the election, the military, instead of handing over power, started to demolish the winning parties by various means. The party that suffered most in the crackdown was the NLD party, the largest and most popular party led by Nobel laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

3. In 1993, the military junta convened what it called a "National Convention" supposedly for drafting a democratic constitution. It was stacked with the junta's handpicked delegates and closely controlled by it. Before long, it was clear that the convention a stratagem by the junta to legitimize the perpetuation of its rule. The junta's 6-point guideline for its "national convention" stipulated that the military was to have a leading role in future national politics. One of the principles required giving 25 percent of the seats in all elected bodies to representatives of
the military. Another principle required the all-powerful president to be a person with military experience and allowed him to declare a state of emergency without approval of the legislature.

4. In 1996, the junta had to stop its national convention as most of the political parties, including the NLD, withdrew from it.

5. The junta's "road map," being pushed for endorsement now by Gen. Khin Nyunt, is nothing less than an attempt to revive the junta's "national convention." It will neither lead to national reconciliation nor bring democracy to the country. Moreover, the blatant attempt by the junta to sideline the leading democratic forces, such as the NLD and its leaders, from the process can lead to an unstable and dangerous situation.

6. The best and the only viable way to national reconciliation and democracy is to hold a tripartite dialogue, an inclusive process, participated by the democratic forces, the non-Burman ethnic forces and the military junta. Only the tripartite dialogue can resolve the underlying political problems and build the trust among the parties necessary for peace and stability.

7. Nowadays, the world is linked together in many ways than most of us may
realize. The instability and dark influences in one country can spread to
another much faster than before. Many problems regarded as internal in the
old days have now become international problems.

8. For that reason, we, the NCUB would like to appeal to the participating countries in the "Road Map" talks on Burma, to prevail upon the Burmese generals to drop their false plan, and allow the international bodies such as the United Nations to intervene for national reconciliation and democratic change.

National Council of the Union of Burma

December 14, 2003