Website : The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Foreign Affairs Committee)
ABFSU (FAC)
A. What is the All Burma Federation of Student Unions?
ABFSU is the umbrella organization of all students unions in Burma.The former name of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions was All Burma Students’ Union (ABSU). It was founded in March 1936 by Gen Aung San and other student leaders under the British colonial rule. ABSU and other student unions were very active in the Burmese political background and they both played key roles in the Burmese Independent Movement.
In the post-independent era, ABSU actively cooperated with the national forces and political parties for sake of national peace and reconciliation. Futhermore, ABSU struggled to lay down a decent education system whilst against the goverment’s poor education policy.Following the National Independent Movement, ABSU had to struggle for internal peace and national reconciliation amongst the national forces and political parties, while at the same time it had to fight for a change in the national education system, given the government’s poor educational policy.
Because of their education reform movements, the goverment crackdown ABSU and other studnet uninons. Thus the unions went underground in 1949.
In 1950, in an effort to revitalize ABSU, many secret meeting were held. In 1951, despite the oppressive atmosphere and the dissent sowed by the goverment’s crackdowns, students banded together to form the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU).
After Gen Ne Win’s took power in 1962, he cultivated the military regime and suppressed ABFSU among other non-goverment organizations, and civil insititutes of Burma. Therefore, ABFSU went underground again and continue struggled for freedom, peace, and democracy in Burma.
In 1988, the whole country stood strongly against the Burma Socialist Programme Party, BSPP, led by Gen Ne Win. That standing took birht the famous People Movement for Freedom and Democracy. During 1988 People Movement, ABFSU took part in the prominent role.
As the military relies on its might and solves the problems by military mean, this time again, the military regime led by Gen Saw Maung bloodily siezed the poewer in September 1988. ABFSU as well as other organizations, which have been struggling to restore democracy in Burma,went underground. The students led by ABFSU continue struggle to restore democracy by peaceful means. Because of this nonviolent struggle against one of the world most brutal regimes, in 2001, the Student Peace Prize Committee, Oslo, Norway, awarded ” Student Peace Prize 2001″ to ABFSU.
Until now, ABFSU is still operating the students’ movements in Burma as an underground organization. It constantly demands through peaceful movements to release students in the prisons, peace and democray, independent student union, students’ rights, and academic freedom.
B. Who is the leader of ABFSU?
On 28 August, 1988, Students rallied together at the Rangoon University’s compound, where once situated the historical studnet unions building. In that assembly, Min Ko Naing was elected as the chairperson of ABFSU. Since after that time, he actively led the students’ movements by peaceful means. In March, 1989, the military regime arrested him and sentenced for 10 years. Even his prison terms completely over, the military regime still detains him without giving any concrete reason. Because of his leading role in the non-violent students’ movements, he was awarded ” 1999 John Humphrey Freedom Award” from Canada in Dec 1999, ” The Student Peace Prize 2001 ” from Norway in March 2001, ” Homo Homini Award” from Czeh Republic in April 2001, and ” Honorary Citizenship in Ivera” from Italy in July, 2002, ” Civil Courage Prize 2005″ from New York-based Northcote Parkinson Fund, private foundation.
C. What is the Foreign Affairs Committee of ABFSU?
Before going underground in 1962, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) was active in foreign relations and international student movements, participating in international events where ABFSU’s views and opinions were presented. Its representatives also attended the international student conference and shared their views with the international community. However, after the military coup in 1962 the student’s movement was crushed by the new government and ABFSU was forced to go underground, which weakened its foreign affairs’ activities.
In a 1990 meeting held in Mandalay (situated in upper Burma) by ABFSU, which gathered ABFSU from all over the country, a decision was made to restart its foreign relation’s activities. But after that conference, most student leaders were arrested and thus the foreign affairs activities could not be implemented.
After the 1996 and 1998 student movements in Burma, given the fact that these were illegal activities and could result in arrest by the military intelligence, most of the student leaders fled to neighboring countries such as Thailand. In August 1998 the Foreign Affairs Committee of ABFSU was founded in the Thai-Burma border area. The ones that remained in Burma still lead the student movement, although an underground one, in which they are always running and hiding from the regime.
The main activities run by the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) of ABFSU are:
- To perform political acitivites lay down by ABFSU relating at border area and at abroad
- To support physically and mentally to all student groups inside Burma, which struggle for democracy in Buram
- To carry out foreign relation acitivites of ABFSU and to link with international students’ community
- To relate to be balance between the acitivites of inside and outside Burma democratic forces.
D. What are the principles of ABFSU?
Since 1960 ABFSU holds 5 principles:
- Preservation of student rights.
- Democratic education
- Democracy
- Internal Peace
- National Cause
E. What are the current activities of Foreign Affairs Committee, ABFSU?
a. Information release: we regularly release about the lost of student rights, suppression upon the student activists, about student movements and poor education system in Burma, to the international communities and student groups.
b. International Relation: we have connected with some international grass-root activists, especially student groups and human right activists. Appropriately, we had attended the international seminars and meeting about Burma issue.
c. Documentation and Research: we have collected the facts and data of human right abuse and about the political prisoners and current education system in Burma. Then we send it to the international human rights groups and campaign groups. Also we have reviewed about the previous student movements of which we published only for inside distribution.
d. Underground movement: we have regular channel with the inside students through the Thai-Burma border area.
e. Publication: we published the “Education Report” binually about poor Burmese’s poor education system.
Contact Person:
Min Naing – In Charge ( + 661 7402908)
Zin Maung – Deputy In Charge (+ 666 9233547)
US contact: Kyaw Kyaw Thein ( +260 424 0420)
EU contact: Kay Thi Aye (+4747 899 578)
Japan contact: Phone Myint Htun (email: myint@hpo.net)
Office email: bakatha@loxinfo.co.th
Website address: www.abfsu.net
Post Office: P O Box (102)
Mae Ping Post Office
50301, Chiang Mai.
Thailand.
