ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

Weather wise it was a lovely day for a protest & march. About 300 or so people gathered in front of the Burmese Embassy in Washington, DC today; Burmese people, various types of Americans, others, Buddhist monks, etc. There were signs expressing our concern for the peaceful protesters in Burma. We chanted & shouted about the need to free Burma, end the violence, free political protesters. Then the protest moved down to the Chinese Embassy, several blocks away, on Connecticut Ave. There were 300 - 500 protesters in front of the Chinese Embassy. A group of about 7 Buddhist monks (from various countries; Sri Lankan, perhaps Burmese, maybe Vietnamese or Thai also) addressed the crowd & chanted prayers. Then various speakers gave small speeches about the situation in Burma; the growing call for boycott of the '08 Olympics in China if China does not do anything positive & significant re: the situation in Burma, and plans for additional protests were announced. Pro

"Please use your liberty to promote ours" - 1991 Nobel Peace Prize receipient (& democratically elected & currently imprisoned leader of Burma) Aung San Suu Kyi Is two people blogging about something a blog-a-thon? :) Maybe. But, as the Burmese military dictatorship clamps down violently (some estimates say hundreds of protesters killed as of today & hundreds of monks in detention), protests outside of Burma will need to continue in order to get the world to push the Burmese junta into doing the right thing (like not beating & shooting peaceful protesters for one, also releasing the elected leader of Burma from a decade plus long house arrest). I am off to go to a protest & March in DC (see info. on protest & march at post below). Will blog stuff re: Burma later. In the meantime, here is Camera Stilo re: the US indie film bloggers re: Burma blog-a-thon. If you are an indie film blogger & you write about Burma this weekend, let me know or lea

Protest is organized by US Campaign for Burma . On Fri 9/28/07 at 4:00 PM protest (against current violent opposition to peaceful protesters in Burma) at the Burmese Embassy followed by a march to the Chinese Embassy along Connecticut Ave NW. Addresses & Directions: Burmese Embassy (meet there at 4 PM) 2300 S Street NW Washington, DC 20008 Directions to the Burmese Embassy from the Dupont Circle Station on the Red Line: - Exit station using Connecticut Ave & Q St NW exit - Walk approx. 2 blocks NW on Connecticut Ave NW - Turn left on S St NW - Walk approx. 2 blocks W on S St NW. Then march to (walking east on S St NW, and then north on Connecticut Ave NW to the Chinese Embassy): Chinese Embassy 2300 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC From a USCB e-mail passed on to me today by a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk in Wheaton, MD: "We are calling upon the one country that has military, economic, and diplomatic leverage over Burma to do something. That country is China. As host of th

Finally a news item that connects the film world (not indie film, but close enough for now :) and the pro-democracy protests in Burma, from US Campaign for Burma website , the introduction to the letter (letter dated 9/6/07): "Today, over 25 Hollywood celebrities sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to "personally intervene" to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The letter was organized by the US Campaign for Burma and Human Rights Action Center and led by Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston. Click Here to Read the Lette

From US Campaign for Burma website: " Show Your Solidarity With the Saffron Revolution We are working on bringing in as many world leaders, celebrities, news agencies on board with this story, but you need to play your part as well. It will not just be Americans working for this, but a global movement as well. Starting this Wednesday (September 26th) we will begin a global week of ACTION. With an explosion of action we will make sure that everyone from world leadersto your next door neighbors have their eyes focused on Burma. Having this global focus will not only help in the protection of those demonstrating, but also make sure that the calls of the monks and civilians gets turned into international action. HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO: - Be a part of our 88,000 signatures campaign. I am asking people to collectively gather 88,000 signatures from around the world, calling on Chinese President Hu Jintao to compel Burma towards valid national reconciliation. Sign the petition here o

Here is the website for US Campaign for Burma , the Washington, DC based activist group that is working to bring democracy to Burma. Lots of information there about the current situation in Burma & how you can help the Burmese people. - Sujewa

Read about the junta's crackdown on peaceful protests here at Mizzima News . When peaceful protests are crushed, more Burmese might turn to violence & armed rebellion in order to improve their living conditions, as the people written about in this article at The Independent have had to do. - Sujewa