On the one-year anniversary of nationwide nonviolent protests dubbed the Saffron Revolution in Burma, the women Laureates of the Nobel Women's Initiative honor the courage and determination of the men and women of Burma. We call for the immediate release of all Burma's political prisoners, including sister laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and Nilar Thein—a woman rights defender and leading pro-democracy activist arrested just last week. Indeed half of Burma's 2000 political prisoners were arrested in the wake of this uprising.

We urge that the call of the people of Burma - for democracy- finally be heeded by the junta.

In honor of the one-year anniversary of the remarkable Saffron Revolution, we are releasing a video in support of the people of Burma. Check it out below or here.

As she and the people of her country continue to struggle for freedom, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will turn 63 today while spending yet another year under house arrest. While her work carries on all over the world, we honor our sister laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the ongoing struggles of the Burmese people.

As Nilar Thein, a former student leader in the 1988 democracy uprising in Burma and political prisoner, wrote in The Nation (Thailand),

"My mind wanders to University Avenue, where "the Lady", Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained under house arrest for so many years. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, will have to spend her 63rd birthday today alone in detention. She will be missing her two sons, too. Her strength and determination helps me and many women in Burma stand up for justice. I thank her for being with us and leading our movement. She is a great reminder to the world that the military junta that rules our country forcibly separates mothers and children."

As international aid trickles in to Burma following cyclone Nargis, we six women Nobel Peace Laureates urge world leaders to speak up for democracy and freedom in Burma.  We strongly believe that solutions to Burma's current humanitarian crisis are very much tied to Burma's on-going political crisis.  The international community should press for freedom of movement for the people of Burma, and freedom for Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The crisis in Burma remains critical. Many Burmese still have no access to aid and millions face imminent death from thirst, hunger and disease. This desperate situation is largely the result of government-imposed restrictions on movement within the country, impeding the ability of local non-governmental organizations to provide help to those who need it most.  Burmese women in particular are impacted by limited access to food for their families.

The Nobel Women's Initiative is deeply concerned with the growing humanitarian crisis in Burma and condemns actions that prevent aid from being distributed to victims of cyclone Nargis. The Nobel Women's Initiative appeals to world leaders, particularly permanent members of the UN Security Council, to use their capacity to ensure adequate humanitarian aid is delivered to Burma without any further delay.

On 19 February 2008, nine Nobel Peace Laureates released a public statement calling for the international community and the United Nations Security Council to impose arms embargoes on Burma. The appeal, issued by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and signed by eight other Laureates, points out that Burma's military junta consistently uses arms supplied by foreign governments to brutally oppress its citizens. The regime is known for its violent crackdowns against peaceful protests, most recently during the Saffron Revolution in late 2007.

Recently, pro-democracy activists are have called into question the credibility of the regime's drafted constitution, which bans Burma's democratic leader, sister laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, from the 2010 elections. 

After an hour long meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, 8 November, U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari released a statement from the detained pro-democracy leader. This is reportedly the first public remarks made by Suu Kyi since 2003, when she was returned to house arrest.

On Friday, Suu Kyi met with four leaders of her political party, the National League of Democracy, as well as the junta's Liaison Minister. The Liaison Minister was appointed as a go-between for Suu Kyi and the ruling junta following the recent popular uprising by Burmese citizens.

The Nobel Women's Initiative joined today with activists around the world and Crisis Action in calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democratic leader.  On October 24th, 2007, this brave woman, also a Nobel Peace Laureate, will have spent a total of 12 years in detention.  

To mark the somber occasion, events are being held in 12 cities around the world - including Toronto, London, Paris, Washington and Bangkok.  Activists are gathered in front of Chinese embassies, wearing Aung San Suu Kyi masks and white robes. 

See the Laureates' statement below

In mid-August 2007 Burma's military regime unleashed the latest crackdown on its citizens' long-standing nonviolent resistance movement. On August 15 the government implemented a massive hike in fuel prices, creating a dire situation for the country's poor. Courageous activists responded to the unbearable costs by staging protests reported to be the largest in a decade.  More than 100 protestors involved in the peaceful demonstrations, including some of Burma's most prominent pro-democracy activists, were arrested.

Campaigners applauded the Presidential statement, while recognizing that the Statement does not carry the same weight as a Security Council resolution.  Human rights groups and Burma solidarity campaigns continued to call for an arms embargo against Burma.

An emergency meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council convened on Tuesday, 2 October, in response to the Burmese government's escalating violence against peaceful protestors.  Impelled by the European Union, the council issued a resolution condemning the atrocities committed by the military junta and urging an immediate investigation.  The meeting followed last week's emergency session by the UN Security Council and the deployment of Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon's special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to Burma, where he met with imprisoned democratic leader and sister Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as well as leaders in the military junta.  Mr. Gambari returned to New York on Tuesday and will be meeting with the UN Security Council later this week to brief them on his trip and assessments. 

Sister Laureate Jody Williams, on behalf of the Nobel Women's Initiative, issued a statement to the UN Human Rights Council which can be read below: