If you've been following the news, you know last week's massive, peaceful demonstrations protesting the Burma/Myanmar dictatorship have been followed by severe repression and brutality. Reports of possibly 200 monks being killed in retaliation cannot be verified or confirmed, because of the media blackout and military crackdown. They were heard by a Burmese army major, Major Win, who defected because he did not want to be part of killing civilians and monks. But certainly the death count is higher than the official government count of 9 people.
Somewhere in the range of 1,400 protestors are in jail now. Democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who decisively won the 1990 elections, has been under house arrest for years.
If you would like to do something to support the Burmese people, these are some simple actions you can take:
1. Call for a 2008 Olympic Boycott.
As best as I can tell, many political analysts say that China holds the most weight over the Myanmar/Burma government because they are Myanmar's most influential trading partner. The Myanmar government does not care about world opinion, or pressure from countries that already do little trade with them, but would be negatively impacted if China put economic sanctions in place.
To that end:
The Chinese government has no incentive to stop trade with Myanmar. They have blocked various United Nations motions on Myanmar with their veto on the UN Security Council. But they do care very much about the 2008 Olympics going well, and the positive press that will bring them. I recommend sending a fax to the President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge. Here is a short sample letter you can copy and paste.
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Dear Sir,
I am deeply concerned by the reports of military brutality in Myanmar against non-violent civilians, monks, and nuns. I am also concerned by reports that hundreds of monks and other peaceful protesters have been detained.
I ask you to, as tactfully as possible, ask the Chinese government to respond to the situation in Myanmar with economic sanctions, in the interests of having a successful 2008 Olympics in Beijing. I could not, in good conscience, attend, watch on TV, or buy any products associated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics otherwise. I am very interested in China's rich cultural heritage and would otherwise look forward to seeing such a major world event in the exciting, cosmopolitan city of Beijing. I feel strongly enough about the issue to also encourage other people to boycott the 2008 Olympics if China remains a complicit economic supporter of Myanmar's current situation.
I believe many other potential Olympic attendees around the world feel the same way. Thank you for your time.
Best regards, ______________
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Fax it to the attention of Jacque Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, at: (41.21) 621 62 16. Or sent it via postal mail (but faxing is better because it is faster):
Jacques Rogge, President
International Olympic Committee
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
2. Email the Olympic Ticket Sales with a Request for China's Divestment in Myanmar.
Consider this a form of "electronic disobedience". You can copy and paste the letter below. Send your email to: ticketsupport@beijing2008.cn
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am deeply concerned by the reports of military brutality in Myanmar against non-violent civilians, monks, and nuns. I am also concerned by reports that hundreds of monks and other peaceful protesters have been detained. It is my understanding that China's government is a major trading partner of Myanmar.
I cannot, in good conscience, attend, watch on TV, or buy any products associated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics as long as the host country is an economic supporter of the current state of affairs in Myanmar. I am very interested in China's rich cultural heritage and would otherwise look forward to seeing such a major world event in the exciting, cosmopolitan city of Beijing. I ask that China use it's influence towards non-violence in Myanmar.
Thank you for your time.
Best regards, ______________
3. Sign a petition
You can sign Avaaz's petition, at their link (once more): http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php
The petition will be delivered to Chinese President Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council. They have over 600,000 signers already and are aiming for 1 million. Many useful Burmese links are at the bottom of Avaaz's page. (You won't be able to sign without giving an email, so give a junk email if you don't want to be on their list. You don't have to give your phone number at all.) You can also sign Amnesty International's petition to the Myanmar government:http://web.amnesty.org/pages/mmr-270907-action-eng Or the U.S. Campaign for Burma's petition to the Chinese government:http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/usca...Y=730&t=HomePa...
4. Financially Support Burmese Journalists
Supporting Burmese news organizations, who fight a constant uphill battle to report the facts of what is happening in Burma to the larger world, is no small thing to do. Irawaddy is one organization. They have in fact had to deal with their site being hacked in the past few days (I wonder why.....). But they are up and running again. http://www.irrawaddy.org/ Donate at the bottom of their subscription link (or subcribe to support their magazine): http://www.irrawaddymedia.com/shop/
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As a parting note, China is not the only country doing business with Myanmar. India and Thailand, among others, do as well, though not to the same extent. I know India's Buddhist community is already protesting India's trade with Myanmar. Thailand is a devout Buddhist country and very much in support of the Burmese monks, but I don't believe that has taken the shape of calling for economic sanctions. Food for thought if any of you wish to do further research in this direction.
Thanks for reading this,
Stephanie
Be The Change
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