Jailed campaigner for Burma pleads for aid after cyclone

May 11 2008 by Pauline Holt, Sunday Sun

A NORTH man who was imprisoned in Burma says the international community should tackle the crisis there with troops.

James Mawdsley, pictured below, who spent 14 months in a rat-infested prison cell after handing out pro-democracy leaflets, says aid should be driven into the cyclone- stricken country.

He said: “I think it’s time now for the United Nations, or even individual nations who have the capability, to force the aid in there. We should unilaterally intervene because the sovereignty [of Burma] belongs to the people not the regime.

“They should land helicopters with aid and give them an armed escort. There’s no need to hold back.”

James, 35, whose mother Diana, lives in Brancepeth, County Durham, was jailed in 1999 for 17 years. He served just over a year, much of it in solitary confinement.

He has subsequently made secret trips back to Burma to visit refugee camps.

He said: “We know the regime has nothing but contempt for the people.

“It’s not a question of talking the regime round or leaning on China and India, it’s time to just drop the aid in now and ask our soldiers to defend the aid workers who are doing their work.

“This could be a turning point in international law where it recognises sovereignty does not lie with tyrants but with people.

“Some aid agencies are worried that the diplomats are antagonising the regime. But the diplomats need to tell it like it is so the international community understands how compelling is the need for intervention.”

“It is terrible seeing the satellite images and realising just how devastating Cyclone Nargis has been and just how much land is under water.”

James, who is studying in Cumbria to be a priest, is disgusted that the military junta went ahead with a constitutional referendum yesterday.

The ruling generals say the referendum will pave the way for elections in 2010 but the opposition says it is intended to tighten the generals’ rule.

“Incredibly the regime is putting their resources into securing their grip on power while hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation and disease,” said James.

The military rulers have said they welcome overseas aid but not foreign relief workers.

The UN fears the death toll could reach 100,000.

To donate to the Burma appeal, call 0870-606 0900 or log on to www.dec.org.uk

Page 2: Burma dissident’s fear for family