Media Release from the Australian Karen Organisation

Karen Activists Urge Australian Government in Canberra Today

8 March 2010

The Australian Karen Organisation members and activists from Burma will today urge the Australian
Government to call for a UN Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in
Burma to be established.

Karen from across Australia will gather in Canberra to deliver a message to the Australian Government
- stop military attacks on our people by supporting the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry.

Karen Activists will deliver this message to the Australian Government

and parliamentarians at 12 noon at the Parliament House, Canberra on Tuesday March !lh•
"Every day there are stories of death, human rights abuses and destruction from eastern Burma because
of the military. Last month a 16-year old boy was killed during a military attack on his village. These
abuses must be stopped," Australian Karen Organisation president Saw Lwin 00 said.

"We're urging the Australian Government to support the calls for a UN Commission ofInquiry to be
established, which will deter the regime from committing further crimes against the Karen and all
people from Burma."

Karen activists will also call on parliamentarians and political parties to publicly state if they support a
Commission of Inquiry.

Today's action follows last week's International Tribunal on Crimes against Women in Burma in New
York, which recommended the UN Security Council refer Burma to the International Criminal Court.
The Tribunal was chaired by Nobel Peace Laureates and Human Rights experts.

Saw Lwin 00 said a Commission ofInquiry is a first step in an International Criminal Court referral.
"The human rights situation in eastern Burma has been acknowledged many times by the Australian
Government, we are calling on them to do something about it."

This event is part of a global day of action from Karen communities around the world.

We call on the United Nations and the International Governments to:

1. Urge the United Nations to send a commission of enquiry into war crimes and crimes against
humanity which are committed by Burmese military regime, State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC).

2. Support a trade sanction and universal arms embargo against Burma.

3. Release all political prisoners including Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

4. Pressure the Burmese military regime to refrain from seeking military solutions against
ethnic minorities, and to respect international humanitarian and international human rights law.

For further information and media contacts- Saw Lwin 00 0412344009, Daniel Zu 0434059903.