September 23, 2008

President and Mrs. Bush Meet with Dissidents
Governors Island
New York

Video (Windows) Presidential Remarks Audio Photos En Español

In Focus: Freedom Agenda
In Focus: Global Diplomacy

1:32 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Laura and I and Secretary Rice and members of my administration have just had a wonderful lunch with democracy leaders, human rights activists, courageous men and women who have stood strong for freedom. I assured them that this government, my government, believes in the universality of freedom. We believe there's an Almighty, and a gift of that Almighty to every man, woman and child is freedom.

They inspire us. Here in America , we have an obligation to help others realize the blessings of liberty. They have been on the front lines of securing liberty. And so we want to thank you very much for your courage. We thank you for your set of beliefs that remain strong. Thank you for taking time to be with us today. And you might want to say something.

MRS. BUSH: Well, I just wanted to add one thing. I've been inspired by the stories that I've heard from everyone here. Some people that are here have already seen the results of their democracy, their actions for democracy, and are now -- live in countries where democracy is the rule of law in those countries. And so we feel encouraged by their stories.

But I wanted to mention particularly today the man standing beside me from Burma. He's one of the Burmese monks that's a refugee here now. It was almost a year ago exactly that the Burmese monks and many, many citizens of Burma turned out to protest in a peaceful protest -- to protest a rise in gasoline prices that were done by the government.

The government put this uprising down with great brutality. Many, many people were arrested, including many monks. Many dissidents and protestors had to go into hiding. Just recently the Burmese government has arrested one of the Generation 88, a female, Nilar Thein. She's now in prison. We all know the Burmese government has kept Aung San Suu Kyi in prison or house arrest for almost all of the last 18 years.

I want to urge all the neighbors of Burma -- China and India and other neighbors -- to continue trying to talk to the Burmese General, Than Shwe, to see if he can't do what all the world, the international community wants him to do, and that is start respecting the rights of the people of Burma; start a real dialogue for a transition to democracy; talk with the opposition leaders, the people from the National League of Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's party, with all the ethnic groups -- bring everyone to the table so that the country can start to rebuild and be the country that the people of Burma want.

I met refugees on the Thai border when the President and I were just in Thailand -- Burmese refugees. These are refugees who want to go home, who want to move back to Burma, and live a life with their rights protected. And one of these refugees is U Kovida, who has had to come to the United States rather than be able to stay there.

I don't know if you want to say anything.

U KOVIDA: Thank you very much for inviting me here. This is really a nice day and my friends -- discussion with many people. In Burma, many (inaudible) people a lot. We all need human rights, all the world's people, because we are all human. So if -- when people, there's no human rights, there's no people and there's no human. So I hope so -- I hope that we all -- international community need to help the Burmese people, and I hope to get help to others -- international community and the U.S. and the European country. And I hope we can change the government some without weapon in Burma and Tibet and other ((inaudible) countries, so around the world we all need peace for change without weapon. Thank you very much.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Thanks.

MRS. BUSH: Thank you, all.

END 1:37 P.M. EDT

About Arakan

Arakan is situated among India in the North, Burma in the East and People's Republic of Bangladesh in the West. To the south, it extends up to Haigri Island and is bounded on the southwest by the Bay of Bengal.

Arakan is comprised of the four provinces of Dhanyawady (Mrauk-U), Maegawady (Man Aung), Dwarawady (Sandway), Rammawady (Rann Bray) and 12 Bengal cities including Chittagong (now in Bangladesh). Decca (present capital of Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka) area as far a field as Mushidabad (near present day Calcutta) was most of the time under Arakanese rule. Arakan''s second largest port city, Chittagong was invaded and occupied by the Moghul in 1666 AD and subsequently Arakanese territory of 12 Bengal cities were lost to the Maghul.

The kingdom of Arakan lost its sovereignty to the Burmese after it was invaded and annexed by the Burmese king Boe daw Maung Wyne in December, 1784.

The area of Arakan was about 20,000 sq. ml. till the British period. But, Burmese ruler, without the Arakanese people''s consent, split up a north western Arakan Hill Tracts area bordering India and a southern most part of Arakan (from Kyauk Chaung River to Cape Negaris) from the Arakan mainland. Due to these partitions, the present day total area of Arakan was reduced to 18, 500 sq. ml and it comprises less than half of historic Arakan.

In 1974, the Rakhine state, consisting 17 townships was created but it was done by the Burmese for administrative purposes. It is presently located between Lat. 16'' 00" N- Lat. 21'' 20" N and Long. 92'' 20" E- Long. 95'' 20" E as one of the poor states under so called Union of Burma with its official name, Rakhine State. Arakanese, however, use the term "Arakan" to mean the area which was historically and traditionally known as Arakan before the 1784 Burmese invasion.

Despite over 200 years of Burmese occupation of Arakan, the Arakanese peoples refuse to be conquered and subjugated by the Burmese. Arakan independent movement started just after it lost independent and is carrying on until now.

Today, Arakanese peoples under the military junta of Burma are at the most risky point of losing its national identity under Burmese junta''s programmatic policy of ethnic cleansing.

On Governors Island President Bush and first lady Laura Bush yesterday hosted a lunch for political dissidents where they discussed how to advance the freedom agenda, the protection of human rights, and the dignity of all people. The attendees included, left to right, the head of the Other Russia Coalition, Garry Kasparov; the chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies, Natan Sharansky; a special envoy of the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari; a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, Xu Wenli; a member of the European Parliament from Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis; the minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Zainab Hawa Bangura; the honorary chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), Alexander Kozulin; Bush; Laura Bush; U Kovida of Burma; the president of Fighters for Free North Korea, Sang Hak Park; a journalist of Cuba, Omar Pernet Hernandez; the chairman and CEO of Radio Caracas Television, Marcel Granier; the director of international relations for Movement for Justice & Development in Syria, Ausama Monajed; the wife of Ayman Nour, Gameela Ismail, and Secretary of State Rice. At the United Nations, Bush said: ‘We must stand united.’