Stand Up for Women Human Rights Defenders!
Demonstration Sunday November 25, 2007
New York, New York
Women On the Move for Burma (WOMB) is organizing a demonstration on behalf of women human rights defenders all over the world, especially those women democracy activists in Burma that are in detention or in hiding. Our demonstration will be one of many in solidarity with the women activists of Burma.
Several of WOMB’s honorees from our Profiles in Courage selections have been arrested as part of the September uprisings. Let us show our support for these brave women!
Upcoming important dates:
November 25 is International Day to Stop Violence Against Women
November 29 is International Day for Women Human Rights Defenders
This Demonstration
When: Sunday November 25, 2007
Where:
1:30 – 2:15 PM Ralph Bunche Park 43rd and 1st Ave
2:15 – 3:15 PM March to Burma Mission
3:15 - 4:00 PM Burma Mission - 10 E 77th St btw 5th and Madison Ave.
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Didomenico (212-365-4155)
Carolyn Nwe (917-704-4623)
Nang San (917-519-3771)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Total Denial Screening at the SAJ this Wed at 7.30 pm
Apparently The Open Society Institute will be attending with some monks. Please come with all your friends and/or put it on your email list. Here:
TOTAL DENIAL: THE FACTS BEHIND THE PROTESTS IN BURMA Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 p.m. SAJ 15 West 86th Street, NY NY
Please come to the SAJ and see this film - if you did not already see it at the Human Rights Watch film festival or at its current run at the Cinema Village. It is a revelation, not only about the horrors that many Burmese have endured for decades, but also about the fact that the courts of the USA became a conduit for the redress of some of those government-perpetrated atrocities. In this case, the plaintiffs were villagers of the Tenasserim region of Burma, through whose state a natural gas pipe line was built by Total and Unocal (now Chevron) with the use of slave labour, which is far more brutal than it sounds. In describing what became of them, the film also sheds light on other aspects of the constant struggle of the people in Burma. Since the film provides this information so brilliantly you will learn that action at this critical time can be very effective.
After the screening, Milena Kaneva, the film's eloquent and magnetic director, and Moe Chan, of Burma Point, which works with refugee Burmese communities and gathers worldwide support for human rights and democracy movements in Burma, will respond to your questions. They will be joined by Burmese monks from monasteries in the New York area and by representatives from human rights and legal organisations working on resolutions of the situation in Burma.
Total Denial could not be more timely, not only with regard to the recent protests in Burma, but also in connection with abuses committed by US-based corporations in Iraq and elsewhere. It provides an opportunity to learn, at no charge and via the illuminating medium of film, not only about conditions in Burma but also how several complex areas of law were argued by prominent corporate and civil rights lawyers, resulting in an expansion of the right, under the Alien Torts Claims Act of 1798, of victims of human rights abuses elsewhere to sue individuals and corporations in U.S courts.
(for more on this see http://www.laborrights.org/press/Unocal/chapmanlawreview_spring05.htm)
LA TIMES review: An unexpectedly gripping look at the ongoing political and human rights situation in Myanmar/Burma. Bulgarian-born filmmaker Milena Kaneva forges the film with of a rough-hewn urgency, and whatever it may lack in graceful image-making it more than makes up for in emotional immediacy. Burmese activist Ka Hsaw Wa -- who lives as a fugitive outlaw when in his own country -- and his American wife use a semi-obscure law that ironically dates back to Colonial times to initiate a lawsuit in the U.S. court system for abusive activities undertaken on behalf of American businesses operating in Burma. The cross-cutting between the jungles of Southeast Asia and the courtrooms of California never ceases to startle, and Kaneva cannily uses the lawsuit to give the film a strong spine and sense of drive.
TOTAL DENIAL: THE FACTS BEHIND THE PROTESTS IN BURMA Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 p.m. SAJ 15 West 86th Street, NY NY
Please come to the SAJ and see this film - if you did not already see it at the Human Rights Watch film festival or at its current run at the Cinema Village. It is a revelation, not only about the horrors that many Burmese have endured for decades, but also about the fact that the courts of the USA became a conduit for the redress of some of those government-perpetrated atrocities. In this case, the plaintiffs were villagers of the Tenasserim region of Burma, through whose state a natural gas pipe line was built by Total and Unocal (now Chevron) with the use of slave labour, which is far more brutal than it sounds. In describing what became of them, the film also sheds light on other aspects of the constant struggle of the people in Burma. Since the film provides this information so brilliantly you will learn that action at this critical time can be very effective.
After the screening, Milena Kaneva, the film's eloquent and magnetic director, and Moe Chan, of Burma Point, which works with refugee Burmese communities and gathers worldwide support for human rights and democracy movements in Burma, will respond to your questions. They will be joined by Burmese monks from monasteries in the New York area and by representatives from human rights and legal organisations working on resolutions of the situation in Burma.
Total Denial could not be more timely, not only with regard to the recent protests in Burma, but also in connection with abuses committed by US-based corporations in Iraq and elsewhere. It provides an opportunity to learn, at no charge and via the illuminating medium of film, not only about conditions in Burma but also how several complex areas of law were argued by prominent corporate and civil rights lawyers, resulting in an expansion of the right, under the Alien Torts Claims Act of 1798, of victims of human rights abuses elsewhere to sue individuals and corporations in U.S courts.
(for more on this see http://www.laborrights.org/press/Unocal/chapmanlawreview_spring05.htm)
LA TIMES review: An unexpectedly gripping look at the ongoing political and human rights situation in Myanmar/Burma. Bulgarian-born filmmaker Milena Kaneva forges the film with of a rough-hewn urgency, and whatever it may lack in graceful image-making it more than makes up for in emotional immediacy. Burmese activist Ka Hsaw Wa -- who lives as a fugitive outlaw when in his own country -- and his American wife use a semi-obscure law that ironically dates back to Colonial times to initiate a lawsuit in the U.S. court system for abusive activities undertaken on behalf of American businesses operating in Burma. The cross-cutting between the jungles of Southeast Asia and the courtrooms of California never ceases to startle, and Kaneva cannily uses the lawsuit to give the film a strong spine and sense of drive.
Total Denial Screening at the SAJ this Wed at 7.30 pm
Apparently The Open Society Institute will be attending with some monks. Please come with all your friends and/or put it on your email list. Here:
TOTAL DENIAL: THE FACTS BEHIND THE PROTESTS IN BURMA Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 p.m. SAJ 15 West 86th Street, NY NY
Please come to the SAJ and see this film - if you did not already see it at the Human Rights Watch film festival or at its current run at the Cinema Village. It is a revelation, not only about the horrors that many Burmese have endured for decades, but also about the fact that the courts of the USA became a conduit for the redress of some of those government-perpetrated atrocities. In this case, the plaintiffs were villagers of the Tenasserim region of Burma, through whose state a natural gas pipe line was built by Total and Unocal (now Chevron) with the use of slave labour, which is far more brutal than it sounds. In describing what became of them, the film also sheds light on other aspects of the constant struggle of the people in Burma. Since the film provides this information so brilliantly you will learn that action at this critical time can be very effective.
After the screening, Milena Kaneva, the film's eloquent and magnetic director, and Moe Chan, of Burma Point, which works with refugee Burmese communities and gathers worldwide support for human rights and democracy movements in Burma, will respond to your questions. They will be joined by Burmese monks from monasteries in the New York area and by representatives from human rights and legal organisations working on resolutions of the situation in Burma.
Total Denial could not be more timely, not only with regard to the recent protests in Burma, but also in connection with abuses committed by US-based corporations in Iraq and elsewhere. It provides an opportunity to learn, at no charge and via the illuminating medium of film, not only about conditions in Burma but also how several complex areas of law were argued by prominent corporate and civil rights lawyers, resulting in an expansion of the right, under the Alien Torts Claims Act of 1798, of victims of human rights abuses elsewhere to sue individuals and corporations in U.S courts.
(for more on this see http://www.laborrights.org/press/Unocal/chapmanlawreview_spring05.htm)
LA TIMES review: An unexpectedly gripping look at the ongoing political and human rights situation in Myanmar/Burma. Bulgarian-born filmmaker Milena Kaneva forges the film with of a rough-hewn urgency, and whatever it may lack in graceful image-making it more than makes up for in emotional immediacy. Burmese activist Ka Hsaw Wa -- who lives as a fugitive outlaw when in his own country -- and his American wife use a semi-obscure law that ironically dates back to Colonial times to initiate a lawsuit in the U.S. court system for abusive activities undertaken on behalf of American businesses operating in Burma. The cross-cutting between the jungles of Southeast Asia and the courtrooms of California never ceases to startle, and Kaneva cannily uses the lawsuit to give the film a strong spine and sense of drive.
TOTAL DENIAL: THE FACTS BEHIND THE PROTESTS IN BURMA Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 p.m. SAJ 15 West 86th Street, NY NY
Please come to the SAJ and see this film - if you did not already see it at the Human Rights Watch film festival or at its current run at the Cinema Village. It is a revelation, not only about the horrors that many Burmese have endured for decades, but also about the fact that the courts of the USA became a conduit for the redress of some of those government-perpetrated atrocities. In this case, the plaintiffs were villagers of the Tenasserim region of Burma, through whose state a natural gas pipe line was built by Total and Unocal (now Chevron) with the use of slave labour, which is far more brutal than it sounds. In describing what became of them, the film also sheds light on other aspects of the constant struggle of the people in Burma. Since the film provides this information so brilliantly you will learn that action at this critical time can be very effective.
After the screening, Milena Kaneva, the film's eloquent and magnetic director, and Moe Chan, of Burma Point, which works with refugee Burmese communities and gathers worldwide support for human rights and democracy movements in Burma, will respond to your questions. They will be joined by Burmese monks from monasteries in the New York area and by representatives from human rights and legal organisations working on resolutions of the situation in Burma.
Total Denial could not be more timely, not only with regard to the recent protests in Burma, but also in connection with abuses committed by US-based corporations in Iraq and elsewhere. It provides an opportunity to learn, at no charge and via the illuminating medium of film, not only about conditions in Burma but also how several complex areas of law were argued by prominent corporate and civil rights lawyers, resulting in an expansion of the right, under the Alien Torts Claims Act of 1798, of victims of human rights abuses elsewhere to sue individuals and corporations in U.S courts.
(for more on this see http://www.laborrights.org/press/Unocal/chapmanlawreview_spring05.htm)
LA TIMES review: An unexpectedly gripping look at the ongoing political and human rights situation in Myanmar/Burma. Bulgarian-born filmmaker Milena Kaneva forges the film with of a rough-hewn urgency, and whatever it may lack in graceful image-making it more than makes up for in emotional immediacy. Burmese activist Ka Hsaw Wa -- who lives as a fugitive outlaw when in his own country -- and his American wife use a semi-obscure law that ironically dates back to Colonial times to initiate a lawsuit in the U.S. court system for abusive activities undertaken on behalf of American businesses operating in Burma. The cross-cutting between the jungles of Southeast Asia and the courtrooms of California never ceases to startle, and Kaneva cannily uses the lawsuit to give the film a strong spine and sense of drive.
Friday, November 9, 2007
article
Students, teachers, schools face deliberate attacks in conflict areas - UNESCO:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24596&Cr=education&Cr1=unesco
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24596&Cr=education&Cr1=unesco
New York Burma Friends: Can You Help Us in Congress
from the US Campaign for Burma...
Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007:
New York Get Your Representatives to Co-Sponsor!
As we mentioned last week, Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) introduced new sanctions to cut off major revenue from Burma's military junta. The Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti- Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007 (HR 3890) has the power to force the regime to negotiate with Burma's democracy leaders and Ethnic nationalities. We must show the people of Burma that the U.S. is taking action to support their calls for freedom, democracy and human rights. Call your Representative today asking them to support the Block Burmese JADE Act! Organize your community to call in as well. Contact details for your Representative below.
What the Act Does:
The regime makes hundreds of millions of dollars each year off the sale of gems. More than 90 percent of the world's rubies and fine-quality jade comes from Burma. The new sanctions will crack down on the regime's practice of avoiding U.S. sanctions by laundering gemstones through third countries before they are sold.
Chevron with a large investment in natural gas in Burma, provides the regime with huge cash flows. They have also escaped sanctions - until now! This bill will target Chevron's payments to the regime and their ability to claim tax deductions on those payments.
This Act also freezes the assets of Burmese political and military leaders, prevents Burma from using U.S. financial institutions via third countries to launder the funds of those leaders or their immediate families, and prohibits Burmese officials involved in the violent suppression of protesters from receiving visas to the United States.
"This legislation will turn off a huge cash spigot for the thuggish Burmese regime," Lantos said. "If my colleagues come together and act quickly to pass these new sanctions, we can put an end to huge profits for the junta and its unscrupulous middle-men. We must ensure that the sale of some of the Earth's most beautiful natural resources does not continue to enable the horrors inflicted upon the people of Burma."
Burma also uses third countries to access the U.S. banking system. These overseas banks process accounts in and through the United States for Burma's rulers, providing the regime with much-needed hard currency. The regime uses these funds to purchase weapons and luxury goods, while the bulk of Burma's population lives in poverty.
Lantos' legislation tightens existing sanctions to prevent Burma's military rulers from profiting from sales to the United States, and blocks access to the U.S. financial system not just for Burmese human rights violators but also to those who provide the regime with banking services.
The Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007, if passed, would be the strongest action yet that the U.S. takes to pressure Burma's military regime to negotiate with Burma's democracy leaders and ethnic nationalities.
Contact information:
To find out whom your individual representative is click on this link and type in your zipcode, www.house.gov. Once there, enter your zip code in the "Find your representative" box in the top left corner of the screen.
Once you know whom your representative is - use the list below to contact your representative's Foreign Affairs staffer. If s/he is not there leave a message and ask her/him to call you back. Call today and call every day until you get an answer!
Already a cosponsor:
Congressman Gary Ackerman (Democrat, 5th district)
Congressman Peter King (Republican, 3rd district)
Congressman Joseph Crowley (Democrat, 7th district)
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (Democrat, 14th district)
Congressman Eliot Engel (Democrat, 17th district)
Need
Top Priority As He is Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, the committee responsible for passing this Act
Congressman Charles Rangel (Democrat, 15th district), contact staffer: 202-225-4365
Congressman Tim Bishop (Democrat, 1st district), contact staffer: Will Jenkins at 202-225-3826
Congressman Steve Israel (Democrat, 2nd district), contact staffer: Mike Ryan at 202-225-3335
Congressman Carolyn McCarthy (Democrat, 4th district), contact staffer: Robert Recklaus at 202-225-5516
Congressman Gregory Meeks (Democrat, 6th district), contact staffer: Sophia King at 202-225-3461
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (Democrat, 8th district), contact staffer: Carole Angel at 202-225-5635
Congressman Anthony Weiner (Democrat, 9th district), contact staffer: Dori Friedberg at 202-225-6616
Congressman Edolphus Towns (Democrat, 10th district), contact staffer: Alex Beckles at 202-225-5936
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (Democrat, 11th district), contact staffer: Jahmal Hudson at 202-225-6231
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (Democrat, 12th district), contact staffer: Max Trujillo at 202-225-2361
Congressman Vito Fossella (Republican, 13th district), contact staffer: CW Estoff at 202-225-3371
Congressman Jose Serrano (Democrat, 16th district), contact staffer: George Sullivan at 202-225-4361
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (Democrat, 18th district), contact staffer: Lucy Heenan at 202-225-6506
Congressman John Hall (Democrat, 19th district), contact staffer: Scott Payne at 202-225-5441
Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand (Democrat, 20th district), contact staffer: Brooke Jamison at 202-225-5614
Congressman Michael McNulty (Democrat, 21st district), contact staffer: David Torian at 202-225-5076
Congressman Maurice Hinchey (Democrat, 22nd district), contact staffer: Moira Campion at 202-225-6335
Congressman John McHugh (Republican, 23rd district), contact staffer: Ann LeMay at 202-225-4611
Congressman Michael Arcuri (Democrat, 24th district), contact staffer: Sam Marchio at 202-225-3665
Congressman James Walsh (Republican, 25th district), contact staffer: Tim Drumm at 202-225-3701
Congressman Thomas Reynolds (Republican, 26th district), contact staffer: Mark Meyer at 202-225-5265
Congressman Brian Higgins (Democrat, 27th district), contact staffer: Jonathan Weston at 202-225-3306
Congresswoman Louise McIntosh Slaughter (Democrat, 28th district), contact staffer: Michelle Adams at 202-225-3615
Congressman Randy Kuhl (Republican, 29th district), contact staffer: Paul Bleiberg at 202-225-3161
To add their name as a cosponsor:
Let them know that to co-sponsor they should contact Eric Richardson at the Committee on Foreign Affairs office at eric.richardson@mail.house.gov or 225-5021.
Talking Points for Staffer:
- Tell the staffer you want your representative to co-sponsor the Block Burmese JADE Act of 2007- Give her/him proof that this policy works. It cuts off hundreds of millions of dollars to the regime and will specifically target the top generals' finances.
- Mention that the military junta still deserves sanctions. On top of brutally crushing thousands of peaceful demonstrators, including monks, the military regime has destroyed more than 3,000 villages. It has forcibly displaced more than half a million people inside Burma as well as causing a million refugees to flee across the border to neighboring countries and has made no efforts to move toward democracy.
- Let her/him know it is important to send a strong signal to the regime that the US government will continue to keep American money out the hands of the junta.
- This is not the only action being taken against Burma. On top of many diplomatic efforts, the EU has imposed new sanctions, as well as Australia, and even Japan has decreased aid to Burma.
- Finally ask the staffer to call you back when your representative has co-sponsored the Block Burmese JADE Act. Important: Leave your phone number!
Let him/her know that his/her constituents care about Burma!
Check up to see if they cosponsor:
It's easy to check and see if they follow through and agree to cosponsor. THOMAS, the Library of Congress' congressional records database updates a list of all information on legislation. Click on this link to find out who has signed as cosponsors,
Please let me know when you have contacted your Representative and how it went - thelma@uscampaignforburma.org. These new sanctions will hit the regime where it hurts.
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