We would like to formally invite you and all members of your organization to join a rally in support of the ethnic people of Burma and all political prisoners, this Thursday at 10 a.m. in front of the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai. (The Shan version of this invitation letter is attached, and later today we hope to be able to send out the invitation in Burmese and Thai.)
The rally will coincide with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s historic visit to Burma. The purpose will be to call on the U.S. and all nations engaging with the Burmese regime to demand an immediate end to human rights abuses in ethnic areas, and freedom for all political prisoners.
This rally is organized by WE ARE BURMA/Blood Foundation and THE BEST FRIEND, after consultation with members of ABSFU, BWU, MAP, Studio Xang, BEAM, We Women, and the IRC CBO Resource Center. We sincerely hope that you and members of your organization will be able to join the rally as well.
Apologies for the short notice, but we need to act urgently as to not miss this historic opportunity. Currently, media from all the around the world is in Chiang Mai to report on Clinton’s visit. This is a wonderful chance to raise ethnic issues to the forefront of discussions about what changes still need to be made in Burma for peace and genuine democratic change.
Later today we will be sending out a draft event statement, and asking all organizations to provide feedback and add their organization’s name, if they agree with the statement and feel it is appropriate.
On the day of the rally, we will provide plain white t-shirts and headbands to rally participants, along with marking pens for people to write their own messages relating to ethnic issues, political prisoner issues, and human rights issues in Burma. We also encourage all of our ethnic friends to attend the rally in their ethnic outfits. For those that wish to, we will be providing Hillary Clinton masks as well. All together, this will make the rally visually vibrant and attractive for news reports and filmed reports.
If you have any questions, please let us know, and please stay tuned for more information and statements later today…
Thank you, and hope you will stand with us on Thursday morning! Please help distribute this information (and the attached flyers) to your networks.
The Best Friend and We Are Burma
