Stand With the Burmese - September 30th, 2007
Zak writes with an elegantly-worded request about the current crisis in Burma:
We can help stop this horror. Burma’s powerful sponsor China can halt the killing, if it believes that its international reputation and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing depend on it. To convince the Chinese government, Avaaz - a social activism group with an international focus - is launching a major global and Asian ad campaign on Tuesday that will deliver this message.
Supporting this ad campaign is a petition to end the violence in Burma that is organized by Avaaz.
The petition has had over 200,000 signers in just 72 hours. We need 1 million voices to be the global roar that will get China’s attention.
I’ve been wondering how I can do my part to help Burma. I’m happy to sign this petition, but I’m wondering what else I might be able to do.
In any case, I’ve read elsewhere that China is Burma’s only hope. That’s the thing about the Chinese government is guilty of many sins, but they’re often in a unique position to effect real, transformative change. Hopefully the free market economy will encourage them to act where their morality might not.
On a related note, am I the only person who didn’t understand the relationship between the names ‘Myanmar’ and ‘Burma’? Burma was renamed Myanmar when the current military regime rose to power in 1989. From Wikipedia:
Burmese opposition groups continue to use the name “Burma” since they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country. Some western governments, namely those of the United States, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, continue to use “Burma”, while the European Union uses “Burma/Myanmar” as an alternative. The United Nations uses “Myanmar”.
Use of “Burma” and its adjective, “Burmese”, remains common in the United States and Britain.
So, I’m going with ‘Burma’ from here on in.