U.S. Corporations in Myanmar Asked to Come Clean

Villagers shout slogans as they protest against a Chinese-backed copper mine project, in Monywa northern Myanmar on March 13, 2013.  Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged protesters on March 13 to accept a controversial Chinese-backed mine that was the scene of a violent crackdown last year, or risk hurting the economy.   AFP PHOTO/ Soe Than WIN        (Photo credit should read Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Villagers shout slogans as they protest against a copper mine project, in Monywa northern Myanmar (Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images)

By Larry Dohrs and Simon Billenness, Business and Human Rights Group, Amnesty International USA

For many people around the world, their most direct contact with the United States is through the operations of American corporations. So it is in our interest that these companies respect human rights, generating good will towards the United States and its people. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Arrested for Opening Up Monasteries?

Plus ça change (plus c’est la même chose).  For those who were lulled into believing that the government of Myanmar is new and improved, and that reforms are taking place with unsurpassed speed, the rearrest of former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience U Gambira is a much-needed wake-up call.  The human rights situation in that country is still precarious, and we need to be vigilant lest they slip back into their old ways.

Ashin Gambira (aka Nyi Nyi Lwin) was arrested on December 1, 2012 – his third arrest since his ”release” in January.  Under the general prisoner amnesty, prisoners’ sentences were merely suspended, rather than expunged. That means the time that remained on U Gambira’s original sentence of 63 years when he was released in January would be added back if he is convicted of these new charges.

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Snapshot Of The Surging Violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

Rakhine, Myanmar

Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the city of Kyaukphyu, Rakhine state. This Digital Globe satellite image from October 25th captures the aftermath. (c) DigitalGlobe 2012

In the Rakhine state (also called “Arakan” by some) of Myanmar, the unfortunate evolution of discrimination, unequal application of the law, and forced displacement into violence and humanitarian crisis has come to bear. Since June, fits of violence between Buddhist and Muslim Rakhine, and Muslim Rohingya communities have likely left tens of thousands displaced and scores dead.

In the most recent incident of ethnic clashes, thousands of Rohingya muslim, but also Rakhine Buddhist, homes have reportedly been burned down. Part of the destruction was captured by a satellite image (courtesy of Digital Globe): The image of Kyaukphyu from October 25 shows a cindery scar on the face of the earth where hundreds of homes used to be (see the area before the destruction here). SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

3 Ongoing Human Rights Concerns in Myanmar

aung san suu kyi myanmar burma

Aung San Suu Kyi  © AFP/GettyImages

Some superstars take pride in being known by just one name, but Amnesty International USA’s star guest on September 20th goes by five: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. A town hall event aimed at the next generation of activists had young people on busses at 4 AM to make the trip to Washington, DC. The venue was perfect — the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the First Amendment.

Addressing the Rights Generation, Amnesty’s Frank Jannuzi asked the audience to keep their phones and electronic devices on during the event. Hashtags and suggested messages scrolled on the large screen as students found their networks and tweeted the story. Mid-Atlantic student leader Stephanie Viggiano was on Facebook with a video she created that day with her phone.

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Alex Wagner: Sitting Down With Aung San Suu Kyi Will Be a Moment of Great Joy, Responsibility

alex wagnerBy Alex Wagner, MSNBC host and moderator of Amnesty’s “Rights Generation” Townhall with Aung San Suu Kyi

If people have heard of the Southeast Asian country known alternately as “Myanmar” or “Burma,” they are just as likely to have heard mention of its national heroine: pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.

When Burma— as it has always been known in my family— was plunged into economic ruin, crippled by ethnic strife and subject to gross violations of human rights at the hands of an oppressive and illegitimate military regime beginning in 1962, my family emigrated to the United States, where they would eventually become American citizens. But not once in the last half decade did they— or I— ever lose sight of the faraway country once called home, a place shrouded as much in secrecy as it was sadness.

For both exiled Burmese and the global community that has followed Aung San Suu Kyi’s decades-long struggle for human rights in the face of one of the world’s most brutal military juntas, her recent release from 15 years of house arrest has capped a stunning series of changes inside the country, led in large part by newly-elected president Thein Sein.

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Five Empty Chairs

In October, Amnesty applauded the announcement that the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to three world-changing women—Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman. In addition to celebrating the work of these women, we’re also very happy that they’re all free to attend the award ceremony tomorrow.

While this year’s winners travel to Oslo to accept their awards, this freedom of movement is not the reality for many activists around the world, including past prize recipients.  Today, we remember five past recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize who have been unable to attend the award ceremony due to persecution:

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Top Ten Reasons to Write for Rights

Fall is my favorite time of year: the air is cooler, the leaves are pretty, Amnesty International student groups are back together again, and people start signing up for the Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon.

In this—the world’s largest human rights event—we use letters, cards and more to demand the human rights of individuals are respected, protected and fulfilled. We show solidarity with those suffering abuses and work to improve people’s lives.

Those are some pretty amazing reasons to participate, but in case you need more, here are my top ten reasons to Write for Rights: SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Keys to Freedom

Keys inscribed by activists to encourage the release of the more than 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar.

By Ulana Moroz Senenko, Individuals at Risk Campaigner for Asia

Last November, Amnesty International welcomed the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from detention. Although her release was certainly a reason to celebrate, more than 2,000 political prisoners remain behind bars in Myanmar.

In honor of Suu Kyi’s 66th birthday, Amnesty International activists around the world signed thousands of keys urging the authorities to unlock the prison doors and free all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally.

Members of Amnesty International Group 159 in Arlington, VA delivered these keys last Friday to the Myanmar embassy staff in Washington DC. The keys were presented adhered to a paper scroll more than 50 feet long. This dramatic visual advocated for those whose rights have been denied as a result of their peaceful activism. In accepting the keys, the authorities are forced to acknowledge those who are unjustly imprisoned in Myanmar.

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A Birthday Wish for Aung San Suu Kyi

Yoko Ono helped campaign for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi © James Mackay enigmaimages.net

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been the beacon of hope and change for nearly two decades in Myanmar (Burma), will be celebrating her birthday on June 19th.

Though the celebration may be inhibited, as over 2,000 political prisoners remain in prison in Myanmar.  Their conditions of detention are often inhumane and horrific; they have been convicted without the benefit of effective counsel or fair trials; and they have been convicted under vaguely worded laws that criminalize peaceful dissent.

Amnesty International members across the globe have urged the Myanmar authorities to unlock the prison doors and release all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally.

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