Military Junta, Withdraw from Burma Politics!
Restore Democracy! End Elite Rule!

We, the grassroots communities, peoples’ organizations, civil society organizations, scholar-activists, and concerned individuals strongly condemn the Burmese military coup for their onslaught of arbitrary arrests of elected government officials, pro-democracy activists, and members of civil society, and for the elimination of the democratic space in Burma.
We stand in solidarity with the peoples of Burma and we register our calls:
We demand that the military cease interfering with Burma politics and return to the barracks where they rightfully belong.
We demand that the civilian government be reinstated, but not only to return to the hands of the elite. Having failed the human rights test by justifying the massive atrocities against Burma’s ethnic minorities, especially the Rohingya genocide, Aung San Suu Kyi should give way and make room for the emergence of progressive and multi-ethnic leadership.
We demand that a new constitution be enacted once a civilian government is restored and progressive leadership emerges that will expunge all references to the military’s involvement in politics, specifically its 25% entitlement of seats in parliament which effectively makes any constitutional amendments towards a genuine democracy impossible. The crafting of a new constitution should lead to new elections that will genuinely be participative, inclusive, and democratic.
As a safeguard against a return to elite rule, we call on non-NLD democratic and progressive forces to step up and organize themselves into an alternative political force that will contest political leadership in Burma.
We demand that the military junta be held accountable for countless cases of human rights violations and atrocities suffered by the peoples of Burma and to face prosecution before the International Criminal Court and other international tribunals.
We demand that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) strongly censure Burma’s military rulers and suspend the country’s membership in the regional body until democracy is fully and meaningfully restored.
We call on the international community to exert pressure on the regional partners of the military dictatorship namely, Russia, India, North Korea, Japan, and China (Myanmar’s key protector within the UN Security Council) to halt their military and economic support until democracy is fully in place.
We express our solidarity with the health workers, teachers, civil servants, factory workers, other essential workers, and peasants and farmworkers, along with grassroots activists in the country who engage in civil disobedience to protest the military takeover and to fight for the fundamental freedoms and the rule of law not only for the peoples of Burma but also for the peoples of Southeast Asia!

Endorsing Organizations:

1. University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies Program on Alternative Development (UP CIDS AltDev)
2. Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT), Burma
3. Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID)
4. Kanlungan Centre Foundation, Inc., Philippines
5. K’dadalak Sulimutuk Institute, Timor Leste
6. Mokatil- Tovimentu Kamponezes Timor Leste
7. Movimentu Popular Reforma Agraria (MPRA), Timor Leste
8. Uniaun Agrikultores Covalima (UNARCO), Timor Leste
9. Uniaun Agrikultores Ermera (UNAER), Timor Leste
10. Institutu Edukasaun Popular (IEP), Timor Leste
11. Aksyon sa Kahandaan sa Kalamidad at Klima (AKKMA), Philippines
12. Urban Poor Alliance Philippines (UP ALL)
13. Luzon CMP People’s Organization Network (LCMP PO NET), Philippines
14. PASDEV Development Center, Philippines
15. Sustainability and Participation through Education and Lifelong Learning (SPELL), Philippines
16. The Right Association, Timor Leste
17. ASEAN SOGIE Caucus (ASC)
18. Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, Pakistan
19. National Union Confederation (KSN), Indonesia
20. Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
21. Peace Women Partners
22. Stop the War Coalition, Philippines
23. WomanHealth Philippines
24. Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB), Philippines
25. Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Philippines
26. TEA group (Togetherness for Equality and Action), Thailand
27. Working People’s Party (PRP), Indonesia
28. Federation Of Karya Utama Union (FSBKU), Indonesia
29. Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas
30. Society of Transexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
31. Partido Manggagawa (Workers’ Party), Philippines
32. Rural Poor Institute for Land and Human Rights Services (RIGHTS), Inc.
33. Feminist’s Liberation Front (FLF), Thailand
34. Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), France
35. Focus on the Global South, Thailand, Philippines, India
36. North South Initiative, Malaysia
37. Alab Katipunan (AK), Philippines
38. Federation of Free Workers, Philippines
39. Bandung Women’s Voice Community (SPB) Bandung, Indonesia
40. Kilos Maralita (KM), Philippines
41. People’s Welfare and Reforms for Social Advancement (PWERSA), Philippines
42. Finnish Asiatic Society, Finland
43. Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP/Solidarity of Filipino Workers), Philippines
44. Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), Philippines
45. Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), Philippines
46. Trade Justice Pilipinas
47. Laban ng Masa, Philippines
48. Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan para sa Karapatang Pantao (AMKP), Mindanao, Philippines
49. OutRight Action International
50. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP)
51. Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO-NAGKAISA)
52. Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA)
53. All Nepal Peasants Federation (ANPFa)
54. Alyansa ng Kabataang Mindanao para sa Kapayapaan (AKMK)
55. Kilusan Para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, Philippines
56. National Fisheries Solidarity Movement of Sri Lanka
57. LILAK Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights, Philippines
58. Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines
59. KATARUNGAN, Philippines
60. Mazingira Institute, Kenya
61. Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), Malaysia
62. Housing and Land Rights Network – Habitat International Coalition, Egypt and Switzerland
63. The Corner House, UK
64. Centro Internazionale Crocevia (CIC), Italy
65. Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Philippines
66. Convergence of Initiatives for Environmental Justice (CIEJ), Philippines
67. Baywatch Foundation, Philippines
68. Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa (KALIPUNAN), Philippines
69. Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT), Cambodia
70. Konfederasi Pergerakan Rakyat Indonesia (KPRI – Confederation of Indonesian Peoples’ Movement)
71. Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK), Philippines
72. Sigaw ng Kabataan Coalition La Union, Philippines
73. Sanlakas, Philippines
74. Health and Development Alliance (HEAD), Cambodia
75. Thailand Human Rights Campaign, United Kingdom
76. Maan Ystävät – Friends of the Earth, Finland
77. Asia Monitor Resource Centre
78. Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation
79. La Via Campesina (International Peasants’ Movement)
80. Metro Manila Pride

Endorsing Individuals:

1. Tony Salvador, Labor Lawyer, Philippines
2. Su Su Wai, Peace Practitioner, Myanmar
3. Andrew Aeria, Civil Society Activist, Malaysia
4. Christian Ramilo, Musician, Philippines
5. Jenny Romero Llaguno, Philippines
6. Monina Geaga, Philippines
7. Luzviminda Santos, Philippines
8. Girlie Amarillo, Professor, Philippines
9. Maria Dulce F. Natividad, University of the Philippines
10. Jun Borras, Professor, ISS, Den Hague, Netherlands
11. Bonn Juego, Academic, Philippines/Finland
12. Maria Karina A. Bolasco, Publisher, Philippines
13. Rene E. Ofreneo, Professor Emeritus, UP, Philippines
14. Rosalinda P. Ofreneo, Professor Emeritus, UP, Philippines
15. Mary Ann Manahan, Scholar-Activist, Ghent University, Philippines/Belgium
16. Roger Daenekindt, Belgium
17. Teodoro C. Mendoza, PhD., Agronomist, Philippines
18. Noli Buhay, Sweden
19. Eduardo Tadem, Retired Professor, University of the Philippines
20. Pierre Rousset, France
21. Andy Rutherford, United Kingdom
22. Nathaniel Candelaria, Philippines
23. Bro. Karl Gaspar CSsR, Professor, Philippines
24. Francisco Nemenzo, Professor Emeritus and former President, University of the Philippines
25. Teresa Encarnacion Tadem, Professor of Political Science, University of the Philippines
26. Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, Japan
27. Valentin da Costa Pinto, Director, Fundasaun HTL, Timor Leste
28. Prof. Anuradha Chenoy, Retired, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
29. Mohiuddin Ahmad, Writer/columnist, Bangladesh
30. Olle Törnquist, Professor of Politics and Development, University of Oslo
31. Prof. Aurora de Dios, Miriam College, Philippines
32. Jai Sen, India and Canada
33. Tove Selin, Chair, Finnish Asiatic Society, Finland
34. Laurence Davis, Lecturer in Government and Politics, University College Cork, Ireland
35. Lisandro E. Claudio, Assistant Professor, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, UC Berkeley, United States of America
36. Bobbie Sta. Maria, Deputy Director, Global Labor Justice – International Labor Rights Forum
37. Rasti Delizo, Philippines
38. Maria Fatima Villena, MA Student, College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila
39. Kevin Hewison, Distinguished Emeritus Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States of America
40. Ben Kerkvliet, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University, Australia
41. Venarica Papa, Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines
42. Verna Dinah Q. Viajar, Postdoc Research Fellow, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Philippines
43. Robin A. De Los Reyes, Dean, School of Liberal Arts, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Philippines
44. Vedi Hadiz, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne
45. Valtimore Fenis, Mindanao, Philippines
46. Prof. Dr. Attachak Sattayanurak, Department of History, Chiangmai University,Thailand
47. Philip Hirsch, Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney
48. Ryan Joseph Martinez, Philippines
49. Jenny Franco, researcher, IPES-Food, Netherlands
50. Reemar Alonsagay, Peace Worker, Mindanao, Philippines
51. Yuen Abana, Partido Manggagawa, Philippines
52. Natalia Scurrah, Researcher, Thailand
53. Frances Cruz, Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines
54. Nicola Bullard, France
55. Joel Barredo, Director, SHAPE-SEA, Thailand/Southeast Asia
56. Althcell Wisdom Tungbaban, Department of Education, Philippines
57. Jan Marvi Atienza, Save San Roque, Philippines
58. Rafael Dimalanta, Philippines
59. Lucia Sihombing, Indonesia
60. Rizki Estrada, Digital Rights Defender, Indonesia
61. Corazon Valdez Fabros, Vice President, International Peace Bureau
62. Temario Rivera, Chair, Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), Philippines
63. Prof. Lawrence Surendra (former UN-ESCAP)
64. Kristine S. Calleja, Graduate Student, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines
65. Chibu. S. Lagman, a retired professor of Latin American Studies, University of Alberta, Canada

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this statement does not reflect official views and/or positions of either the University of the Philippines (UP) System or the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UP CIDS).)