PETITION: Action on Burma

Last month, we took part in the relaunch of the multi-party friendship group Parliamentary Friends of a Democratic Burma. With input from civil society, including Inter Pares, this non-partisan groups of federal members of Parliament and senators created a petition calling on Canada to take specific actions related to Burma. 

Now they need your support to show the federal government that people in Canada want action!

Please show your support by signing this petition today. Then share it with your friends, loved ones and networks. The more signatures they receive this week, the better. 

This is a physical paper petition – but don’t worry, the process is simple:

1. Download the PDF
2. Print the document double sided
3. Sign it and get others to sign it (there is room for five signatures on the page but feel free to print more sheets for more signatures)
4. Fold and seal it (avoid using glue)
5. Mail it! No need for an envelope or postage as mail can be sent to MPs postage free

Download and sign the petition now

Here’s what the petition says:

Petition to the House of Commons

We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:

Whereas:

• The illegitimate military junta in Burma continues to indiscriminately kill, torture, rape, imprison and displace civilians, particularly through air strikes, causing an increased need for vital humanitarian assistance;
• Communications infrastructure within the country, often used to warn civilians of imminent attack, has been destroyed by the military;
• The state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises (MOGE) accounts for the majority of funding the military receives to commit human rights atrocities;
• Canada has outlined its own obligation to aid in the Myanmar crisis as reported in “Canada’s strategy to respond to the Rohingya and Myanmar crises (2021 to 2024)” as well our commitment under the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on the Government of Canada to:

• Call on the military junta in Burma to immediately cease all executions, atrocities and human rights abuses against civilians;
• Increase humanitarian aid into Burma, especially via local civil society organizations working cross-border from neighbouring countries, to more adequately address the needs of vulnerable communities;
• Provide the technological and logistical support for communication infrastructure to establish early-warning systems and air defence systems to warn and protect civilians from aerial attacks, to save lives and prevent human rights abuses;
• Call on insurance companies to stop providing insurance cover for deliveries of aviation fuel to Burma
• Impose sanctions against MOGE, including blocking direct and indirect oil and gas purchases that support the Burmese regime;
• Swiftly implement the objectives set out in the aforementioned strategy and uphold our international obligation of R2P;
• Refuse to engage or recognize the junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) in any regional or international fora;
• Promote ongoing dialogue among pro-democracy groups and diaspora groups, with a view to helping the Burmese people to develop an inclusive democracy with full recognition and representation of all ethnic minority communities, including Rohingya; and
• Provide assistance to Burma’s politicians and citizens to support the development of a federal democratic system and power sharing that would provide a solution for the country of multiethnic people who have been living together before the country could be called Burma.

Download and sign the petition now