News of another Hero: Aung San Suu Kyi This is long, and her efforts are on going.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 4, 2003
ATTN: HIGHER EDUCATION, WORLD, and BUSINESS EDITORS
Media Contact: Jon Heifetz, College of William and Mary, 757-221-7420
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William and Mary Student Senate Strikes Against Dictatorship
Unanimous Resolution Calls on University to Divest from Companies in Burma
(Williamsburg, VA) In an extraordinary move, the Student Senate at Virginia's College of William and Mary, representing all 7,500 students, unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday night calling on the university to divest itself of companies operating in the Southeast Asian country of Burma
I wanted to draw your attention to an incredible report released today by one of the worlds most respected refugee advocacy organizations, Refugees International. The report, is entitled "No Safe Place: Burma's Army and the Rape of Ethnic Women." As you might know, Burma's regime has likely raped tens of thousands of ethnic women in an effort to subjugate the entire population. This new report makes two important points:
1) The use of rape as a weapon of war by the regime is happening on a much wider basis than previously documented--indeed, throughout the countryside.
2) The rapes are both widespread AND systematic, which makes them a war crime.
Please have a read--there is an excellent executive summary that
includes recommendations.
We should warn that much of the report is quite graphic, and includes information on gang-rapes, repeated rapes, rapes of children, torture, mutilation, and execution.
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/cgi-bin/ri/bulletin?bc=00531
If you'd like to speak to one of the authors, Veronika Martin, you can contact her at: 202-828-0110.
On a happier note:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 15, 2003
Contact: Dan Beeton, 202-547-5985; Aung Din, 301-602-0077
Powerful Industry Association Calls for Ban on Apparel Imports from Burma.
American Apparel and Footwear Association Takes Strong Stand on Human Rights
ARLINGTON, VA - In an unusual move, the powerful American Association of Apparel and Footwear Manufacturers has called for the U.S. government to impose a ban on apparel and footwear products from Burma because of massive human rights abuses in that country. The Association calls for the government to enact and "maintain this ban until Burma demonstrates that it recognizes, respects, and enforces basic human and labor rights for its own citizens." The Association has almost 1,000 member companies including industry powerhouses like Levi-Strauss & Company, Sara Lee Branded Apparel, Liz Claiborne, and Perry Ellis.
"The Association has done the right thing. This will strengthen our coalition's grassroots effort to boycott 'Made in Burma' products," says Aung Din, Director of Policy for the Free Burma Coalition. "No companies - U.S. or otherwise - should profit from forced labor in Burma."
To subscribe to the newsletter: mailto:jeremy@freeburmacoalition.org
Thanks
Just felt this was really important.