Free Burma; Free Political Prisoners
Annual Burma Human Rights Day Benefit
(A public outreach and awareness activity in support of Burma's people since 2001)

Saturday, March 12, 2011; 6:00pm-10:00pm
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Hall,
1924 Cedar (at Bonita), Berkeley, CA 94709-2022, USA

All proceeds are for HIV/AIDS shelters in Burma run By Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party, NLD

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Visiting HIV/AIDS shelters after the release

DINNER * SPEAKERS * FILM

Win Hlaing: Burma's Elected MP and former political prisoner in Exile
Title: My life as a freedom fighter

Min Zin: A freelance journalist and student activist in exile
Title: Post-2010 Election Challenges in Burma

FILM: Crossing Midnight, Raising Awareness about the Human Rights Crisis in Eastern Burma (Award wining, 29 mins, Color)

$15 Suggested Donation (dinner included) to HIV/AIDS shelters in Burma
Draft Program: Dinner (6-7 pm), Speakers (7-9 pm), Film (9:00-9:30), Q&A (9:30-10:00)
Dinner is vegetarian friendly; Talks will be in English; Contents are OK for children

Organized by Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA).
Co-sponsored by Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Social Justice Committee, Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), Burmese American Women's Alliance (BAWA),
Clear View Project, Amnesty International (USA), Ginetta Sagan Fund Organization and Free Burma Project

Contact: Jen Low (415 772 2907); Anil Verma: 510 485 3751
Email: badaonline @badasf.org; Website: www.badasf.org

Last year Burma Human Rights Day event

The event will feature a Burmese style dinner and a Burma documentary film along with three outstanding Speakers on Burma

Each year, the people from Burma around the world commemorate March 13 as the Burma Human Rights Day to make the death of the engineering student Ko Phone Maw as he was murdered by the Burma's military in his school campus. The killing set off the historic 1988 nation-wide pro-democracy uprising in Burma after 26 years of oppression. However, the regime brutally cracked down the peaceful protests and continued hold on to power for decades.

In September, 2007, yet another historic and massive, but peaceful protests for democracy led by the students and monks took place; but, as always, the regime brutally murdered the innocent protesters and monks. The Peoples' endless and painful struggle for freedom, for over four decades, continues to this day.

The world has yet again witnessed the brutality of the regime when the Cyclone Nargis devastated the lower delta region of Burma on May 2nd, 2008. Hundreds of thousands left for dead by starvations denying much needed urgent help despite international appeals and pressure.

To continue to raise the awareness about the brutal dictatorship and the people's suffering in Burma, and to discuss planning actions, this year again, BADA will hold its ninth Annual Burma Human Rights Day event on Saturday March 12, 2011 at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists hall, 1924 Cedar (@Bonita) in Berkeley from 6 pm to 10 pm.

The military regime in Burma hold its sham election this year to formally erase the results of 1990 election in which People of Burma overwhelming voted for the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Furthermore, the constitution that was illegal crafted by the military and forcibly gotten the approval during the Nagis disaster is designed to formalize the military rule in Burma. Therefore, 2011 is the most important year yet for the people of Burma and their beloved leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all prodemocracy forces in Burma. Our speakers will discuss the current political situation in Burma as well as human rights issues and, most importantly, how you can help. Therefore, please join us for a dinner, film and outstanding speakers on Burma and human rights issues.

SPEAKERS:

Win Hlaing, Burma's Elected MP, Member of Burma Lawyers' Council, and former political prisoner in exile

Win Hlaing is an exiled Member of Parliament and a member of the Burma Lawyers’ Council. During the 1988 uprising in Burma, he was a youth leader of the NLD - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s party - and later won a seat representing the NLD in the 1990 historic election. He was then imprisoned for 10 years due to a military crack down on the NLD and its elected representatives. He fled Burma in 2007 and continues his work for Burma's Freedom in the US.

Min Zin - A freelance journalist and student activist in exile

Min Zin is a freelance journalist who has written for the Far Eastern Economic Review, The Bangkok Post, The Irrawaddy and other publications while pursuing a PhD in Political Science at UC Berkeley. He became involved in student activism in the 1988 uprising as a 14-year-old high school student. He went into hiding in 1989, and his underground activist/writer life lasted for nine years until he fled across the Thai-Burma border in August 1997. Min Zin then worked for the Thailand-based Irrawaddy magazine and the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (Burmese Service). He holds a MA degree in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley.

FILM - Crossing Midnight - Raising Awareness about the Human Rights Crisis in Eastern Burma (Award wining, 29 mins, Color)

Set on the border of Thailand and Eastern Burma, Crossing Midnight tells the story of a remarkable community of refugees from Burma working against incredible odds to help their own. Today, one million internally displaced persons are living in the jungles of Eastern Burma in the midst of on-going armed conflict. There, they live on the run, risking injury and death to forage for food to sustain their families. Over two million more have fled to the border of neighboring Thailand after enduring decades of oppression by a brutal military dictatorship.

Directions

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.