Date: May 17, 2004

The Fourth Annual Meeting of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), AAPP (B), which was successfully convened on May 15 and 16, 2004, releases its statement about the military controlled National Convention.
1. We the AAPP (B) oppose the National Convention led by the military regime, which continues to detain and torture the elected representatives of the people of Burma and the leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), including U Tin Oo, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and other political prisoners.
2. As the first step towards genuine reform, the regime must release all political prisoners and allow them to take part in the democratic transformation process.
3. We condemn the regime's attempt to reconvene the National Convention while stubbornly holding to the same basic principles as the last, fruitless National Convention, which was stopped in 1996. These principles are neither the will of the people nor their elected representatives. We condemn the military regime's failure to abolish the one-sided declaration of decree No. 5/96.
4. We recognize and support the correct decision of legal parties, such as the NLD and ethnic parties, to boycott the military regime's sham National Convention.
To solve the Burmese political crisis through genuine dialogues, the release of all political prisoners and their participation in the reform process is vital. We demand the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, who have been unjustly arrested and detained.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)