By Shaun Tandon
WASHINGTON, Tuesday 2 November 2010 (AFP) - As the United States heads to the polls Tuesday, university students across the country are also getting out the vote over a very different election -- the one in Myanmar.
At least 23 US campuses are holding mock elections to throw a spotlight on Sunday's vote in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The polls are widely viewed overseas as a sham due to marginalization of the opposition and ethnic minorities.
Activists see the election as a setback for the cause of democracy in the military-ruled country but hope the mock polls will stir up activism and put Myanmar higher on the agenda for young Americans.
At Georgetown University, students Monday handed out ballots with a choice between the two main US parties. Activists then contrasted the free results with the expected ringing endorsement of the junta in Myanmar's election.
"There are of course limits to what student activism here can do inside Burma," admitted mock election leader Morgan McDaniel, 19, as she handed out ballots -- and, to entice voters, dumplings -- at the university in Washington.
"But by doing this we can raise awareness among people who don't know what's going on and ultimately push support for human rights organizations," she said.
"It's also really important to broadcast into Burma that we support them in their quest for a democratic government," she said.
McDaniel came up with the idea after visiting the border of Thailand and Myanmar. She is active in Stand, a global movement of students against genocide that was launched at Georgetown in 2004 to rally for action over Darfur.
At American University, students are handing out ballots that offer the sole choice of supporting the junta. After casting their vote, students are asked to throw their ballots into the garbage.
Student leader Kirk Acevedo, 21, who also spent time on the Thailand-Myanmar border, said he was alarmed that many classmates could not find Myanmar on the map.
He hoped to help shape students' views on issues important for activists -- such as setting up a UN-backed Commission of Inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity by the junta.
"We hope that this is at the minimum a forum for discussion and that it will plant the seeds of activism, so when something happens, or people hear about the Commission of Inquiry, the whole community is aware," he said.
Human rights groups say that Myanmar has systematically razed villages belonging to ethnic minorities, deployed child soldiers and used rape as a weapon of war.
The elections are the first in Myanmar since 1990, when democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won by a landslide. The junta never allowed the opposition to take over and Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.
President Barack Obama's administration has strongly criticized the election but has stood by its policy initiated last year of engaging the regime in dialogue.
Exile groups fear that the junta is trying to gain international legitimacy and isolate Aung San Suu Kyi through the elections.
Students have played a prominent role inside Myanmar, including in 1988 when they led a mass uprising that was crushed after generals consolidated power in a coup. An estimated 3,000 people were killed.
Myra Dahgaypaw, the campaign coordinator for the US Campaign for Burma, is visiting many of the campuses to describe her own experience -- more than 25 years internally displaced or in a refugee camp in Thailand.
"Students come in big groups and are very energized. They want to see outcomes as effective as possible," she said. "We want to get more students on our side."
Source:http://www.mysinchew.com/node/47443
WASHINGTON, Tuesday 2 November 2010 (AFP) - As the United States heads to the polls Tuesday, university students across the country are also getting out the vote over a very different election -- the one in Myanmar.
At least 23 US campuses are holding mock elections to throw a spotlight on Sunday's vote in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The polls are widely viewed overseas as a sham due to marginalization of the opposition and ethnic minorities.
Activists see the election as a setback for the cause of democracy in the military-ruled country but hope the mock polls will stir up activism and put Myanmar higher on the agenda for young Americans.
At Georgetown University, students Monday handed out ballots with a choice between the two main US parties. Activists then contrasted the free results with the expected ringing endorsement of the junta in Myanmar's election.
"There are of course limits to what student activism here can do inside Burma," admitted mock election leader Morgan McDaniel, 19, as she handed out ballots -- and, to entice voters, dumplings -- at the university in Washington.
"But by doing this we can raise awareness among people who don't know what's going on and ultimately push support for human rights organizations," she said.
"It's also really important to broadcast into Burma that we support them in their quest for a democratic government," she said.
McDaniel came up with the idea after visiting the border of Thailand and Myanmar. She is active in Stand, a global movement of students against genocide that was launched at Georgetown in 2004 to rally for action over Darfur.
At American University, students are handing out ballots that offer the sole choice of supporting the junta. After casting their vote, students are asked to throw their ballots into the garbage.
Student leader Kirk Acevedo, 21, who also spent time on the Thailand-Myanmar border, said he was alarmed that many classmates could not find Myanmar on the map.
He hoped to help shape students' views on issues important for activists -- such as setting up a UN-backed Commission of Inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity by the junta.
"We hope that this is at the minimum a forum for discussion and that it will plant the seeds of activism, so when something happens, or people hear about the Commission of Inquiry, the whole community is aware," he said.
Human rights groups say that Myanmar has systematically razed villages belonging to ethnic minorities, deployed child soldiers and used rape as a weapon of war.
The elections are the first in Myanmar since 1990, when democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won by a landslide. The junta never allowed the opposition to take over and Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.
President Barack Obama's administration has strongly criticized the election but has stood by its policy initiated last year of engaging the regime in dialogue.
Exile groups fear that the junta is trying to gain international legitimacy and isolate Aung San Suu Kyi through the elections.
Students have played a prominent role inside Myanmar, including in 1988 when they led a mass uprising that was crushed after generals consolidated power in a coup. An estimated 3,000 people were killed.
Myra Dahgaypaw, the campaign coordinator for the US Campaign for Burma, is visiting many of the campuses to describe her own experience -- more than 25 years internally displaced or in a refugee camp in Thailand.
"Students come in big groups and are very energized. They want to see outcomes as effective as possible," she said. "We want to get more students on our side."
Source:http://www.mysinchew.com/node/47443
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