And now for something completely different... :-)
Daily Mail
19th October 2007
Women around the world are sending their knickers to Burmese embassies to protest against the country's brutal regime. Burma's iron-fisted - yet superstitious - military junta believe touching lady's underwear will "rob them of power", organisers say.
Women around the world are sending their knickers to Burmese embassies to protest against the country's brutal regime. Burma's iron-fisted - yet superstitious - military junta believe touching lady's underwear will "rob them of power", organisers say.
And Lanna Action for Burma hope their "Panties for Peace" campaign will help oust the oppressive rulers who ruthlessly crushed recent democracy protests. The group's website explains: “The Burma military regime is not only brutal but very superstitious. They believe that contact with a woman's panties or sarong can rob them of their power. So this is your chance to use your Panty Power to take away the power from them.” Activist Liz Hilton added: "It's an extremely strong message in Burmese and in all Southeast Asian culture.”
The military junta in Burma, officially known now as Myanmar, faced international condemnation after it brutally cracked down on recent anti-regime protests. And the country's oppressive leader General Than Shwe has pledged to continue to hunt down and imprison those who took part. The junta says 10 protesters have so far been killed and 2,100 arrested, but foreign diplomats fear both figures could be far higher.
A wave of extra sanctions against Burma have already been imposed by Western leaders since the callous clamp down. And earlier this week Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned of further measures against the regime if it did not end the violence against its own people. He said: "We cannot forget the images on our television screens of monks and ordinary citizens in Burma protesting - nor the death and human rights abuses we know are still taking place.
A wave of extra sanctions against Burma have already been imposed by Western leaders since the callous clamp down. And earlier this week Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned of further measures against the regime if it did not end the violence against its own people. He said: "We cannot forget the images on our television screens of monks and ordinary citizens in Burma protesting - nor the death and human rights abuses we know are still taking place.
"Last week's UN Security Council statement - the first ever formal statement on Burma - sent a powerful signal of the determination of the international community to support the Burmese people in their transition to democracy. Burma must take clear steps towards the return of democracy."
Women from Britain, Australia, the US and many of Burma's neighbours began sending their underwear on October 16. And Lanna Action hopes thousands will soon follow suit and swamp Burmese officials with knickers and end four decades of military rule. "You can post, deliver or fling your panties at the closest Burmese Embassy any day from today. Send early, send often," the group's website urges. So far Burmese diplomats have not responded.
The Myanmar Embassy in the UK is located at 19a Charles St,London, W1J 5DX.
See Lanna Action for Burma for more details.
SONG: Peace Call by Woody Guthrie
BOOK: Women, Power and the Biology of Peace by Judith Hand
POEM: The Esquimos Have No Word for “War” by Mary Oliver
Trying to explain it to them
Leaves one feeling ridiculous and obscene.
Their houses, like white bowls,
Sit on a prairie of ancient snowfalls
Caught beyond thaw or the swift changes
Of night and day.
They listen politely, and stride away.
With spears and sleds and barking dogs
To hunt for food. The women wait
Chewing on skins or singing songs,
Knowing that they have hours to spend,
That the luck of the hunter is often late.
Later, by fires and boiling bones
In streaming kettles, they welcome me,
Far kin, pale brother,
To share what they have in a hungry time
In a difficult land. While I talk on
Of the southern kingdoms, cannon, armies,
Shifting alliances, airplanes, power,
They chew their bones, and smile at one another.
QUOTE: "We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds." ~ Anton Chekov
BOOK: Women, Power and the Biology of Peace by Judith Hand
POEM: The Esquimos Have No Word for “War” by Mary Oliver
Trying to explain it to them
Leaves one feeling ridiculous and obscene.
Their houses, like white bowls,
Sit on a prairie of ancient snowfalls
Caught beyond thaw or the swift changes
Of night and day.
They listen politely, and stride away.
With spears and sleds and barking dogs
To hunt for food. The women wait
Chewing on skins or singing songs,
Knowing that they have hours to spend,
That the luck of the hunter is often late.
Later, by fires and boiling bones
In streaming kettles, they welcome me,
Far kin, pale brother,
To share what they have in a hungry time
In a difficult land. While I talk on
Of the southern kingdoms, cannon, armies,
Shifting alliances, airplanes, power,
They chew their bones, and smile at one another.
QUOTE: "We shall find peace. We shall hear angels. We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds." ~ Anton Chekov
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