Rev. Danny Fisher

The U.S. Campaign for Burma is asking for you to call your Congressperson for Burma today:

Ask their staff person who handles foreign policy if your Congressperson will sign a letter, which some members of Congress are organizing that calls for an official United Nations investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.
10 Quick Easy Steps for Calling Your Congressperson

1. Background on the Issue
   
2. How to Find Your Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
   
3. Who to Ask for When You Call
   
4. The Number to Call
   
5. What to Say
   
6. What the Receptionist Will Say
   
7. What to Do Once You are Transferred to the Staff Member
   
8. Report Back to Me
   
9. List of Members of Congress from Your State
   
10. List of Members Who Signed the Letter Already
1. BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE

   For years, Burma’s military regime has carried out brutal human rights abuses against its own civilians. Their abuses include the conscription of tens of thousands of child soldiers, the destruction and forced displacement of over 3,300 ethnic minority villages, widespread rape of Burmese women, the killing of civilians, and forcing hundreds of thousands of Burmese people into forced labor, what some call modern-day slavery.

   These are not simply human rights abuses — they are mass atrocities called “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes,” meaning that they are illegal under international law such as the Geneva Conventions and Rome Statute.

   In the past, the United Nations Security Council has voted to create a “Commission of Inquiry” to investigate abuses of a major magnitude — such as in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and the Darfur region of Sudan. The Commission of Inquiry then makes recommendations to the U.N. Security Council for action. However, no such Commission of Inquiry been created for Burma.

   Now, two leading members of the U.S. Congress, Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Don Manzullo (R-IL) have organized a letter to President Obama asking him to press the U.N. Security Council to create a Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Burma’s military regime. They are circulating a letter in Congress and asking other Congressmembers to sign-on. They want as many members as possible to sign the letter, which will then be sent to President Obama.

   We need your help to get more members of Congress to sign. When members of Congress organize letters like this they are called “Dear Colleague” letters. We want you to call your member of Congress and ask them to sign this “Dear Colleague” letter.

   Every American is represented in the U.S. Congress by one member of the U.S. House of Representatives. We would like you to call your Congressional office to urge your member of the U.S. House of Representatives (NOT the U.S. Senate) to sign the “Dear Colleague” letter along with Congressman Crowley and Manzullo. You do not have to be a citizen; just live or work in your Congressperson’s district. Below are specific instructions on how you can do this.

2. HOW TO FIND YOUR MEMBER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

   Go to this url: “www.house.gov.”
   –Enter your zipcode into the window on the upper left. After you find out, move to the next step.

3. WHO TO ASK FOR WHEN YOU CALL

   Locate the the name of your Representative’s foreign policy staffer on the list at the bottom of this email. Every Representative has a staff member who handles foreign policy, by talking directly to the foreign policy staffer you increase your chances of getting your Congressperson to sign-on

4. WHAT NUMBER TO CALL

   Call them at the number that we have provided (also on the list below). It is best to call between the hours of 9:30am and 5pm, eastern time (Monday through Friday).

5. WHAT TO SAY

   When a receptionist answers the phone, ask to speak to the foreign policy staffer by name.

   “Hi my name is [your name] from [name of your town], may I speak to [name of the foreign policy staffer]?”

   Tell the receptionist that you live in the Congressperson’s district and that you want to speak to the staffer about signing a “Dear Colleague” letter regarding the country of Burma. Be sure to be polite, and say something like:

   “I am calling because I would like to ask [name of staff member] if my Representative will sign on to a Dear Colleague letter regarding crimes against humanity in the country of Burma.”

6. WHAT THE RECEPTIONIST WILL SAY

   At this point the receptionist will either:

   A) Transfer you to the telephone of the staff member. If this happens see section “A” below. or

   B) Transfer you to the voicemail of the staff member. If this happens see section “B” below.

7. WHAT TO DO ONCE YOU ARE TRANSFERRED

   A) IF YOU SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE STAFFER

   I.) Thank them for speaking with you and tell them why YOU think they should sign-on.

   II.) Tell them why you called. Here is a suggestion of what to say:

   “Hi my name is _______ I am from _________, a town in the Congressperson’s district. I am calling because I’m very concerned about the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity that Burma’s military dictatorship continues to commit in the country of Burma. I would like to urge Representative _________ to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter asking president Obama to support a U.N. Security Council investigation into the crimes against humanity that are being committed in the country of Burma. The letter is being circulated by Representative Joe Crowley and Representative Don Manzullo.”

   Offer to email them the letter; there is a good chance that the staffer may not have seen the letter yet. To do this, cut and paste the letter from this website: http://uscampaignforburma.org/congressletter

   III.) OPTIONAL
   You might want to tell them some key facts about Burma, such as:
   

8. Burma’s military regime has recruited tens of thousands of child soldiers (according to Human Rights Watch)
   
9. Burma’s military regime has destroyed over 3,300 ethnic minority villages, forcing at least 1 million people to flee as refugees and internally displaced persons (According to the United Nations)
   
10. Burma’s military regime uses rape as a weapon of war against ethnic minority women (According to many different organizations, and the State Department investigated this and found it to be true)
    IV.) Ask whether or not your Representative will sign the letter.
    It is likely that they will not give you an immediate answer because they need to ask your Representative. If that is the case, ask them politely when you will know about the final decision and how you can be informed.

    V.) How Your Congressperson Can Sign.
    Ask them to contact the following staffer, based on their party affiliation:
    –Republicans Contact Nien Su in Rep. Manzullo’s office at nien.su@mail.house.gov 202-225-5676.
    –Democrats contact Gregg Sheiowitz with Rep. Crowley’s office at gregg.sheiowitz@mail.house.gov or 202-225-3965.

    VI.) Ask them when you can call back to follow-up.

    VII.) OPTIONAL: Add additional information about why YOU care about Burma.
    -As Speaker of the House Tip O’Neal once observed “All Politics is Local,” meaning to be successful you must bring the issue home. Your Congressperson represents YOU and it is you they want to hear from. If you have traveled to refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border, know Burmese people, or care about human rights, be sure to let the staff member know.

    VIII.) IMPORTANT: Let us know how it went!
    -Send an email to: mikejen@uscampaignforburma.org to let us know what happened. Please be as detailed as you can.

    B) IF YOU LEAVE A VOICEMAIL

    I.) Leave a brief message with the foreign policy staffer. Here is a suggestion for a message to leave:

    “Hi my name is _______ I am from _________, a town in the Congressperson’s district. I am very concerned about the human rights abuses and crimes against humanity that Burma’s military dictatorship continues to commit in Burma. I would like Representative _________ to sign on to a “Dear Colleague” letter asking President Obama to support a U.N. Security Council Commission of Inquiry into the crimes against humanity that are being committed in Burma. The letter is being circulated by Representative Crowley and Representative Manzullo. I would appreciate it if you could call me back so we can discuss this further, or if you need a copy of the letter. My number is (XXX)XXX-XXXX. Thank you!”

    II.) Call back (politely) every day until you talk to the staff member on the phone. Members of Congress are very busy, so it often takes a few calls to get their attention. Once you reach them on the phone, follow the instruction in section “A.”

    III.) Let us know how it went -Send an email to: mikejen@uscampaignforburma.org to let us know what happened. Please be as detailed as you can.

11. REPORT BACK TO ME

    Call me at any time. Let me know if you spoke to your Representative’s office, or let me know if you are having a hard time getting through to the right person. I am here to help — contact me as much as you need. Write both Jen and I at “mikejen@uscampaignforburma.org” or you can call me anytime at (202) 234-8022.

12. LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES AND STAFF MEMBERS IN YOUR STATE

    [See www.house.gov.]

13. LIST OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO HAVE ALREADY SIGNED THE LETTER

    Joe Crowley (D-NY)
    Don Manzullo (R-IL)
    Rush Holt (D-NJ)
    Peter King (R-NY)
    Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
    Madeline Bordallo (D-Guam)

[Photo via Reuters.]

“Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, rignt shakes hands with a diplomat in this image taken from TV in Yangon Myanmar Wednesday May 20, 2009. Myanmar’s military regime opened Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial Wednesday to reporters and diplomats, but the unexpected access did not stem criticism that the hearing is a political ploy to keep the pro-democracy leader behind bars through next year’s election.” Photo by MRTV, via APTN.
Reuters is reporting that Burma’s ruling junta opened their trial of Nobel Peace laureate and Prime Minister-elect Daw Aung San Suu Kyi today “in an apparent bid to calm growing international outrage at the regime and its latest crackdown.” The article continues:

Suu Kyi appeared healthy and confident during the 45-minute hearing watched by some 30 diplomats and a handful of Burmese journalists on the third day of her trial inside Yangon’s notorious Insein Central Prison.

The 63-year-old, known affectionately as “The Lady” by her supporters, faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of breaking the terms of her latest house arrest.

“Thank you very much for coming and for your support,” Suu Kyi, dressed in a pink blouse and maroon-coloured tied skirt, known as a longhi, told the diplomats after the hearing.

“I hope to meet you in better days,” she said, smiling, before female police officers escorted her out of the court.

She was to meet privately with diplomats from Russia, Thailand and Singapore at her prison guest house later. It was not clear if the trial would be open on Thursday.

The BBC also has video of a strong and confident Suu Kyi speaking with diplomats and journalists. Take a look.

My friend Ravenna Michalsen, whom I interviewed for this blog and profiled for the Spring 2009 issue of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, was recently interviewed on the wonderful radio show Interfaith Voices. Ravenna also performed two of her songs in their studio. You can download the interview here (it begins at 38 min., 34 sec.), and listen to her performances here and here.

This particular episode of the radio program also features an interview with actress Vinessa Shaw (Eyes Wide Shut, 3:10 to Yuma) about her Nichiren Buddhist practice that is worth a listen (she’s at 23 min., 48 sec.).

The picture above and to the left, of Ravenna and I, was taken in Duke Divinity School’s Goodson Chapel during Ravenna’s recent visit to the Durham, NC, campus. She came at the invitation of the delightful Buddhist Community at Duke.

[This has been updated as of 8:25 p.m. PST on 5.20.09.]

Here are today’s headlines about Burma and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s ongoing military trial:

Image via Tibet Will Be Free.
Here’s the latest Tibet-related news: