Asian Artists: "An Open Letter For Burma"

AN OPEN LETTER FOR BURMA
October 3, 2007

From people of Asian background in the arts:


We write to express our extreme dismay at the brutality of the military regime of Burma (Myanmar) against protesters who have been peacefully asking for change in that Asian nation. Led by Buddhist monks and nuns, tens of thousands of people have marched in Burma’s cities and towns in recent week. This has been an inspiring example of nonviolent resistance which has caught the attention of the entire world.

Unfortunately, the military dictatorship has chosen to meet this challenge not with negotiation, but with gunfire from automatic weapons. Monks and nuns have been viciously beaten and arrested, students and journalists shot in the street, and whole cities are now under a military reign of terror.

As citizens of the world, as artists valuing free expression, as people of Asian heritage, we write in support of the courageous Buddhist monks and nuns, and other people from all religions and walks of life in Burma, as they continue to seek peaceful change and national reconciliation.
We demand an immediate end to the violence against the protesters, and a release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, dissident comedian Zarganar, and poet BamawNyo New.

We support the ongoing struggle of the people of Burma for basic human rights, and we admire their expressions of compassion for all humanity. As fellow humans, we stand with them.


Sincerely,


1. Maxine Hong Kingston2. Linda Kim3. Htein Lin4. Amitav Ghosh5. Khin Aye Than6. Ruby Walters7. Doryun Chong8. Charmaine Craig9. Huma Dar10. Maya Lin11. Tamara Chin12. Bharat Venkat13. Jerry Zee14. Taro Shinoda15. Mira Kamdar16. Eungie Joo17. Byron Kim18. Pascal Khoo Thwe19. Maryam Kashani20. Kim Beom21. Audrey Chan22. Wei Hua Peng23. Hou Hanru24. Clara Kim25. Kris Kuramitsu26. Michael Ondaatje27. Haegue Yang28. Paisley Rekdal29. Yiyun Li30. Le Ly Hayslip31. Gitanjali J. Hursh32. Vasanthi Victor





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