Toggle high contrast

Letter to David Miliband re Burma

Issue date

Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH

 

Dear David

Burma

As you will know, the TUC, as part of the International Trade Union Confederation and in bilateral relations with the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma, has been concerned for some time about the continued crimes, including exaction of forced labour, of the military junta in Burma. We welcome the public statements from the Government on Burma in recent days.

Despite all the efforts made by the ILO we continue to receive reports of forced labour, especially in areas of military activity and against the Karen people, for construction work, military sentry duty (serving as human shields), portering and other labour exacted by the army by brutal force and under threat of punishment. We have today received further reports that people have been abducted to act as human minesweepers.

The Burmese people are now faced with a major crisis, as it appears that the military are prepared to use violence to repress popular peaceful demonstrations against the policies of the dictatorship. The TUC therefore welcomes the Prime Minister's statement, calling for restraint by the authorities and urging the EU to warn the junta of tougher sanctions were it to choose repression instead. We agree that the situation requires immediate international action and a strong position from the UN Security Council.

The TUC therefore urges the Government, in addition to its calls on the EU and the UN for tougher action in the current crisis, to support a referral of Burma to the International Court of Justice for the continued exaction of forced labour by the junta and its armed forces.

Yours sincerely

Brendan Barber

General Secretary

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

To access the admin area, you will need to setup two-factor authentication (TFA).

Setup now