Penn State's chapter of Amnesty International will be hosting a rally today in support of the current plight of the Buddhist monks in Myanmar.
The rally will begin at 6 p.m. on the HUB lawn and proceed down College Avenue to the Old Main lawn, where a candlelight vigil will be held.
While Amnesty International and its affiliated organizations will be hosting the event, all are welcome to attend, said Eric Sherman, Penn State's Amnesty International co-coordinator.
Buddhist monks in Myanmar, also known as Burma, met fierce opposition from the country's military junta last month when they joined peaceful protests against their government's recent price increase in gasoline.
Violence escalated last Wednesday with the first junta-reported death from the region, while official governmental figures and unofficial local reports streaming from the region vary dramatically in the number of monks and protesters dead and injured.
Hotels housing journalists have been raided, and Internet access has been cut off in all but a few prominent buildings. Yesterday, The Associated Press reported that a growing number of citizens in Yangon, the country's largest city, are shutting off the government's nightly news program in order to quietly protest its propaganda.
Myanmar soldiers have used force to suppress protesters, dispersing tear gas and firing shots into the air, while civilians and monks have been beaten, arrested and detained. The United States has placed sanctions on the leaders of the junta, and the United Nations has sent a special envoy to the region.
"It is a very grave human rights violation," said Tim Nguyen, Asian Pacific American Caucus president. "[The government] shouldn't resort to that type of reaction to a peaceful protest."
Nguyen said he was very interested in joining the rally and said he would be sending an e-mail about it to his club members.
The protests against the gas price hike began on Aug. 19, but recent monk involvement caused the number of protestors in Myanmar to increase greatly, with about 70,000 mobilizing at its peak.
In order to squelch the rebellions, Myanmar soldiers began locking monks in their monasteries, allowing the soldiers to better compromise small bands of anti-government protestors without their monk leadership.
"The monks are the ones who give us courage," a Myanmar woman told The Associated Press. "I don't think that we have any more hope to win.''
Sherman said he and his organization are encouraging everyone participating in today's rally to wear red in respect and honor of the monks.
He added that Amnesty International is promoting the protest as a means to raise awareness about current events in Myanmar, to support the monks in the region and to protest against the Myanmar government.
- The Associated Press contributed to the article
