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The 88 Generation Students

88gen.student@gmail.com

Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma)

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah of Brunei

H.E. Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia

H.E. Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh of the Lao PDR

H.E. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia

H.E. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of MalaysiaH.E. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines

H.E. Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong of Singapore

H.E. Prime Minister General (Retired) Surayud Chulanont of Thailand

H.E. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam

H.E. Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong of ASEAN Secretariat

Date: November 19, 2007

Dear Excellencies,

With regards to the 13th

ASEAN Summit opening today in Singapore and the proposed adoption

of the ASEAN Charter, we, the remaining leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group, once

again address you as state leaders of the region, following an earlier letter dated September 17,

with the urge for ASEAN to take action against the ongoing grave human rights abuses in

Burma/Myanmar and to increase pressure on the countrys military regime to engage in genuine

dialogue for national reconciliation.

We appreciate that ASEAN heads of states issued a statement dated 27 September 2007,

expressing revulsion against the killings and demanding the regime to stop the use of violence

against demonstrators. However, we hope you will continue to pressure on the military regime,

the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as it has continued to harass, detain, and arrest

those that were involved in the peaceful demonstrations in August and September citizens of an

ASEAN member country who simply exercised their basic human rights and fundamental

freedoms. Furthermore, to date, the numbers of those detained or killed during the protests remain

unverified, despite the fact that the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights

situation in Myanmar, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, was recently allowed to visit the country

for an assessment of the human rights situation in the country.

As you are aware, UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon and UN Special Envoy Mr. Ibrahim

Gambari have been calling for an inclusive national reconciliation process, the release of Daw

Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. In declining Mr. Gambaris proposed three-way

meeting and by continuing arrests of political activists, the SPDCs willingness to cooperate with

the UN must be questioned.

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The military regimes lack of political will to work together with the local actors and international

community can also be seen as the generals continuously announce publicly they will proceed

with their own roadmap to democracy. We believe this process will not lead to resolve our

country's crises as it is undemocratic and non-inclusive of all actors concerned.

Therefore, we urge ASEAN, as a vital stakeholder and significant actor to clearly reject the

SPDCs sponsored roadmap to democracy, and take on a stronger role in pressuring the militaryregime to start a genuine dialogue process towards national reconciliation. In addition, we askASEAN to stop its financial support and economic cooperation with the SPDC, and instead work

with the UN, US, EU and other countries to resolve the crisis in Burma. If the military regime

continues to ignore the international communitys efforts and fail to produce tangible outcomes,

we would also like you to consider the suspension of the SPDC from ASEAN.

As, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro expressed upon his return from Burma/Myanmar last week,

the human rights situation in the country has not improved, why it requires priority attention from

the regional body. Mr. Pinheiro expressed hopes that special consideration to Burma/Myanmar

will be given at the 13th

ASEAN summit.

We welcome that the ASEAN charter stresses such principle as respect for fundamentalfreedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice. It is

our sincere expectation that this charter be used as a tool by ASEAN countries to ensure the

protection of human rights of all people in the region. If the SPDC is allowed to continue its

arbitrary arrests and violations of peoples basic rights in Burma/Myanmar, the credibility of theASEAN Charter will be in question, especially in respect to its principles on human rights and

rule of law.

Sincerely,

The 88-Generation Students

Signed by:

Tun Myint Aung Nilar Thein Soe Htun