July 22, 2010

This has been quite an exciting week for the Burma community: import restrictions on Burma were renewed by Congress, Extractive Industry Transparency regulations were passed with the financial reform bill, and a Dear Colleague letter requesting a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma began circulating in the Senate.

This Dear Colleague letter, addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calls on the United States to publicly support a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. A number of other democracies including the United Kingdom, Australia, Czech Republic, and Slovakia have already made this public statement in favor of a Commission of Inquiry. Now U.S. Senators have a chance to sign the letter in support of this much-needed investigation.

In October 2009, Lovemine launched its first campaign and asked participants to write personal letters to their Senators expressing why they care about Burma and why their Senator should support a Commission of Inquiry into crimes in Burma. People, both young and old, from around the country wrote to their Senators demanding that the U.S. pay attention and do something about the grave human rights crisis in Burma. For some, it was their first time being a political advocate. For others, this was another step in a long personal struggle of bringing justice to Burma. Student participant at Pepperdine University, Caroline Mobley remarked: “There are so many injustices, cruelties, and unnecessary casualties in the world that it’s hard to keep up with them. That’s why many people do not. But it so essential, so critical, for us to see the reality of what is really going on in our world and to use our freedoms to assist those who have had their freedoms taken away and to aid those who have never known what it is to be free. The people of Burma have suffered for so long without the world noticing. I believe the time for intervention passed long ago, which means we must work harder and faster to help put an end to these crimes against humanity before any more can be committed.”

On July 15th the campaign came full circle as the hundreds of letters written during The Ignite Project made their way down the streets of Washington D.C. and into the Senators’ hands, delivered by Lovemine staff and volunteers.  Senators have now heard the urgings from their constituents to support the letter thanks to the participation of countless citizens from around the country and the hard work of many partnering organizations.
Lovemine exists to help stop the oppression of all peoples in Burma by challenging underlying power structures that enable injustice. Lovemine, in partnership with other like-minded organizations, puts on campaigns to achieve these goals. As the first of these campaigns, The Ignite Project yielded hundreds of letters that will shape the political dialogue in our nation’s capitol concerning Burma. Thank you to all the participants – it is your voice that is making the difference.

Senators still have the opportunity to sign the letter until Wednesday, July 28th. Please call or write your Senator and ask him/her to sign the letter requesting a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma!