Lee Jae-myung, UCLG Join Voices in Condemning Myanmar Human Rights Abuses

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province joined a joint statement with the United Cities Local Governments (UCLG), a coalition of local governments worldwide, condemning human rights abuses in Myanmar and demanding respect for Myanmar citizens' basic rights, particularly freedom of opinion and expression.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 3rd, Governor Lee Jae-myung officially participated that day in the "Joint Statement on Myanmar Crisis" released by the UCLG's Committee of Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights (UCLG-CSIPDHR).

The United Cities Local Governments is an international organization representing the interests of cities and local governments worldwide.
The Committee of Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights (CSIPDHR) is a human rights-related committee under UCLG that provides advice on local governments' human rights policymaking.

In the statement, the Committee of Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights stated, "We condemn the human rights abuses continuously perpetrated since the military coup in Myanmar and express deep solidarity with the Myanmar people and elected representatives facing repression, arrests, and killings," and added, "We demand the release of democratic activists arrested by the regime and respect for the basic rights of all Myanmar citizens, particularly freedom of opinion and expression."

The Committee particularly mentioned specific violence such as arrests of children and land confiscation and repression targeting ethnic minorities, stating "We condemn the atrocities committed by Myanmar's military regime.

We demand that the Myanmar military regime respect democratic values and human rights principles, urge concrete measures to end the spiral of violence and restore peace and democracy in Myanmar," it emphasized.

Meanwhile, toward local governments of each nation, it appealed, "We ask you to participate in solidarity plans with the Myanmar people and support the activities of local NGOs in Myanmar. We also ask you to inquire with your government about what international strategies are being implemented to restore democratic order in Myanmar."

Earlier, Governor Lee Jae-myung held a meeting in March with six members of the "Committee to Overthrow Myanmar Military Dictatorship," including Soe Moe Tutu, chair of the Myanmar Labor Welfare Center's board of directors, and Yan Naing Tun, head of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Korean branch, where he expressed interest in and support for the Myanmar crisis, saying "Myanmar is Gwangju of May 40 years ago."

Following that, a live video of the "Spring of Myanmar" event held by the Myanmar Students' Association in Korea with support from Gyeonggi Province became a topic of discussion, surpassing 160,000 views within a day of being uploaded to YouTube.

Governor Lee also made an official request for clarification from Myanmar's military regime after the Myanmar government put democracy activists on the wanted list because the governor met with them. Meanwhile, he is establishing a constant communication and cooperation channel with the Gyeonggi Province-Myanmar Democracy Network for the recovery of Myanmar's democracy and peace, and is reviewing support measures.