Today is a special day.
My name is Tin Maung Win and I am a member of the presidium of the National Council of the Union of Burma, an organization of ethnic groups and democracy organizations struggling to restore freedom and bring peace to Burma. First, I would like to introduce my colleagues who are here with me. David Takapaw is one of the senior members of the Karen National Union and my good friend George Min Swe, Senior Editor of the New Era Journal, one and only independent democratic underground newspaper, recipient of the grant from the U.S. Congress through National Endowment for democracy. It was in August of 1988 when the Burmese people peacefully took to the streets to demand the military junta step aside and return the democracy that was stolen from them by the generals in a coup. Sadly and tragically, the military generals that rule our country had other ideas.