Wear Red on Saturday for Burma

Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said he will join the call for a boycott of the 2000 Olympics unless China changes its U.N. Security Council position on Burma.

Saturday, October 6th, has been declared an International Day of Action For Burma. Organizers are asking that people worldwide wear red or saffron as a show of unity for the Burmese monks who are standing in opposition to one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world.

Most recently, a United Nations worker in Burma and three of her family members were among those taken from their homes by the junta's security forces, the New York Times reported today. It is not known how many people have been killed or detained since the Burmese governement cracked down against the Buddhist monks who led the largest demonstrations against the junta in two decades.

From the Times:

Yangon residents say helicopters fly over the city throughout the night as military trucks patrol the streets with loudspeakers blaring intimidating messages.

Shari Villarosa, the highest ranking United States diplomat in Myanmar, said the message, broadcast in Burmese, was roughly this: “We have your pictures. We’re going to come and get you.”

“I think they just are arresting anybody that they have the least bit of suspicion about,” Ms. Villarosa said. “This is a military that rules by fear and intimidation. Wouldn’t you be terrified if you were subject to being rousted out of bed at 2 o’clock in the morning, taken away and never knew why?”

For more information on local events or to sign a petition check the U.S. Campaign for Burma.