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Burmese activists win 1999 John Humphrey Freedom Award

Burmese activist Dr. Cynthia Maung and prisoner of conscience, Min Ko Naing, have won the 1999 John Humphrey Freedom Award of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, for their efforts to empower the people of Burma.

Montreal, June 22, 1999 Burmese activist Dr. Cynthia Maung and prisoner of conscience, Min Ko Naing, have won the 1999 John Humphrey Freedom Award of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, for their efforts to empower the people of Burma.

The Award will be presented in Montreal on December 10, 1999 at the end of a three-day long World Conference on Civil Society to be held at the Sheraton Centre. The Award, which includes a $25,000 grant and a speaking tour of Canada, is named in honour of John Peters Humphrey, the Canadian who prepared the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Dr. Cynthia Maung is a 39-year old physician from the Karen ethnic minority in Burma who for the past ten years has been living in the refugee camps along the border of Burma and Thailand. She is known widely as "Dr. Cynthia." Thousands of refugees seek the solace and safety of her clinic, where she not only heals the wounded but also maintains a sense of community and keeps alive the hope for a life of freedom.

Min Ko Naing is a legendary figure of the democratic movement in Burma. During the 1988 nation-wide democratic uprising in Burma, his statements, speeches and poems aroused the democratic aspirations of the people. His name speaks of courage, commitment and hope. Viewed as a threat by the State Law and Order Restoration Council, Min Ko Naing was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. His last known contact with the international community was in 1995, when the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma was permitted to visit him in detention.

"Dr. Cynthia Maung and Min Ko Naing inspire all those who struggle for peace and justice in Burma," said Warren Allmand, President of the International Centre, upon announcing the decision of the international jury.

"We hope that this Award will help provide some measure of protection to Dr. Cynthia Maung and Min Ko Naing and further expose the brutal dictatorship in Burma," explained David Matas, a Winnipeg lawyer, who chaired the meeting of the international jury held last week to consider over 50 nominations from around the world.

The winners were selected by an international jury composed of five members of the International Centre's Board of Directors: Kamal Hossain - Chair of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan; Kathleen Mahoney - Professor of Law at the University of Calgary in Alberta and Chairperson of the International Centre's Board of Directors; David Matas ? Lawyer practicing in Winnipeg, Manitoba and former President of the Canadian Council of Refugees; Cecilia Medina - Professor of Law at the Universidad de Chile and President of the UN Human Rights Committee; and Willy Munyoki Mutunga - Lawyer, Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Co-Chair of the Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change.

Dr. Cynthia Maung was nominated by Inter Pares and Canadian Friends of Burma. Min Ko Naing was nominated by the Institute for Asian Democracy and the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).

Burma's democratic uprising in 8/8/88 was brutally crushed by the military government?later renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)?which wrested power from the democratically-elected National League for Democracy and its leader, Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite its severe repression of human rights, Burma was admitted as a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Canada, and a number of other countries, have imposed economic sanctions on Burma. Last week, the International Labour Organization adopted a resolution, by an overwhelming majority of its members, virtually expelling Burma from the ILO. The resolution bans the regime from receiving aid or attending ILO meetings until it halts its egregious and widespread use of forced labour.

Previous John Humphrey Award winners are Palden Gyatso of Tibet (1998); Father Javier Giraldo and the Comision Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz of Colombia (1997); women's rights activist and lawyer Sultana Kamal of Bangladesh (1996); Bishop Carlos F. X. Belo of East Timor (1995); the Campaign for Democracy of Nigeria and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (1994), the Plateforme des organismes ha?tiens de d?fense des droits humains (1993); and the Instituto de Defensa Legal of Peru (1992).

The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development is an independent Canadian organization with an international mandate. It works with citizens' groups and governments in Canada and abroad to promote human rights and democratic development through advocacy and institutional capacity building.