缅甸僧侣呼吁支持对该国武器禁运

参加缅甸去年9月抗议活动的一名佛教僧侣呼吁国际社会不要支持、承认缅甸军政府，也不要出售武器给该政府。这位僧侣是在印度尼西亚首都召开的一个国际人权会议上发出这一呼吁的。

U Awbata escaped from Burma into Thailand, last November, after hiding for nearly two months following a government crackdown against peaceful street protests led by his fellow monks.

僧人吴.奥巴塔去年11月从缅甸逃到泰国，缅甸军政府镇压了那次僧侣领导的和平街头抗议，奥巴塔在逃出缅甸之前隐藏了近两个月。

U Awbata says the world community must not support Burma in any way and should support an arms embargo against the military government.

他说，国际社会一定不要在任何方面支持缅甸，而且应该支持对缅甸军政府实行的武器禁运。

"As you have seen that the military generals have used their guns to kill and crush their own people, I would therefore like to appeal to the international community here today to work together and urge those countries selling arms to Burma to stop them from doing so," he said.

吴.奥巴塔说：“军政府的将领用枪杀害并镇压它的国民，这是有目共睹的事实，因此我要呼吁国际社会共同努力，敦促向缅甸出售武器的国家停止这种行为。”

The monks took to the streets of the capital, Rangoon, in September, chanting prayers in peaceful protests against a sharp increase in fuel prices.

缅甸的僧人去年9月走上仰光街头，吟诵经文，和平抗议燃油价格窜升。

Soon joined by ordinary citizens, the demonstrations quickly turned into the biggest anti-government protests seen in the country for nearly two decades.

僧侣的行动很快得到普通市民的支持，抗议行动迅速发展成为反政府示威，成为20年来缅甸出现的最大规模的抗议行动。

Soldiers opened fire and beat protesters with batons, killing at least 31 people, according to the United Nations. Thousands were jailed in an effort to stop the demonstrations.

军人开枪并用警棍殴打示威群众，联合国估计，至少有31人在镇压中丧生。为了制止示威行动，政府还将数千人关进监狱。

U Awbata he does not know how many died after soldiers attacked monks at the famed Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, but that he will never forget what he witnessed there.

吴.奥巴塔说，他不清楚在仰光著名的瑞光大金塔旁到底有多少僧人在政府的镇压中丧生，但是他永远也忘不了他亲眼所见的事实。

"I cannot forget," said U Awbata. "I cannot erase the sight that I saw on the eastern side of the Shwedagon Pagoda where three monks were shot at and when they fell down the soldiers used their boots and stomped on the heads of the wounded monks and beat them with batons."

他说：“我忘不了、也永远都抹不掉我在瑞光大金塔东侧亲眼所见的一幕，有3名僧侣被子弹击中，他们倒下以后，军人还用皮靴踩踏受伤僧人的头部，用警棍殴打他们。”

Many countries, including the United States and the European Union have imposed strict economic sanctions against Burma.

很多国家，包括美国和欧盟国家都对缅甸实行经济禁运。

But many participants at the Burma conference want the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to do the same.

但是很多参加缅甸问题国际会议的国家希望有10个成员国的东南亚国家联盟也采取同样的行动。

Debbie Stothard, the coordinator for the Bangkok-based human rights group Altsean, says ASEAN should consider sanctions against Burma instead of sticking to its principle of non-interference in member states' affairs.

总部设在曼谷的人权组织东盟替代网络的协调员德比.斯托特德(Debby Stotherd)说，东盟应该考虑制裁缅甸，而不是坚持东盟的不干涉其他成员国内政的原则。

"We want a peaceful political solution for Burma, because a peaceful political solution will be good not just for the people of Burma but for the people of this entire region…we need the political will. We need ASEAN and Indonesia to prove it has political will," said Stothard. "Which means they will have to seriously consider sanctions.

她说：“我们希望通过和平的政治方案来解决缅甸的问题，因为和平的政治解决方案将不仅有利于缅甸人民，也有利于整个地区的人民。我们需要政治意愿，我们要求东盟国家和印尼证明它们有政治意愿，也就是说，他们应该严肃地考虑对缅甸实行制裁。”

Thursday, the United Nations special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived in Burma to resume his mission to try to convince the military government to start talks with the opposition on political reform.

星期四，联合国的缅甸特使甘巴里抵达缅甸，他的任务是继续努力说服军政府开始和反对党进行政治改革的谈判。

He arrives just a month after the government announced plans to hold a referendum on a new constitution on May followed by elections in 2010, a move Gambari called a positive sign.

甘巴里到缅甸一个月前，缅甸军政府刚刚宣布，计划在今年5月就新宪法举行公投，然后在2010年举行大选。联合国特使甘巴里表示，这是一个积极的信号。