Burma, once known as the “Golden Land”, is now a land of terror and despair, due to more than four decades of military dictatorship. The Burmese junta has denied human rights of its citizens and has been widely condemned by nations and institutions as one of the most brutal regimes in the world. Join us to see the featured film and to hear the dynamic speakers focusing on the courage and the suffering of the people of Burma. Your support will help bring attention to the imprisoned democracy activists of Burma, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is again under house arrest in Rangoon.

FILM SCREENING--  Burma - Inside the Secret City                  

Description: Burma's new capital of Naypidaw is one of the most mysterious cities in the world. Few foreigners have been inside and now there are signs a chain of underground bunkers are being built nearby. Buried deep within the remote jungle is Naypidaw, Burma's new capital. The Generals are so paranoid about it they've imprisoned journalists for trying to do what the reporter did: film the city being built. Foreigners are banned from the nearby city of Pyinmana where sources say the military are building a network of underground bunkers. Tremors are often felt at night. Since moving the capital, the army has intensified its battle against the Karen, clearing out surrounding villages in an attempt to dominate the area. Nearly 3,000 Karen villages have been destroyed in the past decade and a million people displaced. Those who speak out risk imprisonment or torture. "The situation of people all over the country gets worse by the hour", laments journalist Ludu Sin Wein. "The whole country is sitting on a power keg that can explode at any time." But there are signs of resistance. Half a million Burmese residents signed a petition calling for the release of their political leaders. As Burmese reporter Ludu Sin Wein states: "Someone has to take risks to let the world know what's going on."

 *** SPEAKERS ***

• DR. SALAI TUN THAN:  "My continued effort against Military Rule in Burma"  Dr. Salai was arrested in November 2001 for staging a one-man protest in front of the Rangoon government building, during which he called for a multiparty general election and the unconditional transfer of state power to the winning party. He was sentenced in March 2002 to a seven-year prison term; but released on May 4 2003 after staging a hunger strike from his bed in Insein Prison Hospital. After leaving Burma in 2005, he has launched solo campaigns against the military rule in Burma, and last year, military regime responded by revoking his passport and citizenship.
   

• DR. THEIN LWIN:  "The Plight of Burmese Children under the Military's Education, Public Health, and Economic Policies"  A student activist since 1975, Thein Lwin was dismissed from Rangoon Institute of Technology after a student demonstration in 1976, and became a teacher in a small village in Irrawaddy Division. He participated again in the 1988 democratic movement.  During the national election campaign in 1990, he was an organizer in Pegu Division for the National League for Democracy, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. After the post-election military crackdown he left Burma, and in 1995 entered the University of Newcastle in England .  Five years later he had a doctorate in Education, and relocated to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to establish an ongoing training program for Burmese teachers.  He also runs a popular language and computer school for local migrant workers, and, with his colleagues, gives advice and support to Burmese students trying to further their education. Visit: www.educationburma.net
   

• JEREMY WOODRUM:  "Campaigning for Burma’s Freedom in the US” Campaign Director, Co-Founder of US Campaign for Burma (USCB): Before founding USCB (www.uscampaignforburma.org) Jeremy worked in the Washington, DC office of the Free Burma Coalition from 1999-2003, serving as Washington Director for the final two years. During that time, he organized over one dozen delegations of Americans to the Thailand-Burma border and led a nationwide boycott effort that resulted in 45 companies withdrawing from Burma. He has been nominated for the Reebok Human Rights Award.
   

• SAW MYAT PYI SONE HTUN: Presentation, “Schools in Dumpster” A presentation by a BADA Youth who recently visited schools at Thai-Burma Border. Some schools are really located in the middle of pile of trashes and most of the schools can be dumped by Thai Authorities at anytime because all schools are illegal.  And most of the teachers and students are illegally stay in Thail's soil.

Directions

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
1924 Cedar Street (at Bonita)
Mailing address: 1606 Bonita Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94709-2022
510-841-4824
Email: office@bfuu.org

• Online map and directions are available from Mapquest.

• By car: there is plenty of on-street parking near the Fellowship. (Please do be courteous to our neighbors and your fellow parkers.)
  From I-80 take the University Ave. exit.
  Go east (toward the hills) on University.
  Turn left on Martin Luther King (MLK).
  2 traffic lights to Cedar. Turn right on Cedar.
  1 block east of MLK, at Bonita.

• On foot: We are located within a few minutes walk of the Downtown Berkeley and North Berkeley BART stations.

  From the North Berkeley BART:
  Walk north on Sacramento. Pass Virginia and Lincoln streets. Turn right on Cedar street.
  Heading east on Cedar, cross California, Magee, Edith, Josephine, and Martin Luther King streets. There is a traffic light at Martin Luther King.
  BFUU is one block east of Martin Luther King, at the corner of Cedar and Bonita.
  Mapquest.
  

• From the Downtown Berkeley BART:
  Walk north on Shattuck. Cross Center, Addison, and University. (University is a major street with a traffic light.) Continue north on Shattuck. Cross or pass Berkeley, Hearst, Delaware, Francisco, Virginia, Lincoln. Turn left on Cedar, at the Andronico's.
  Heading west on Cedar, pass Henry and cross Milvia street.
  BFUU is three blocks west of Shattuck on Cedar, at the corner of Cedar and Bonita.
  Mapquest.