July 23, 2007—Karen refugees along the Thai-Burmese border have welcomed another US celebrity, Hollywood actor Walter Koenig, whose visit to a refugee medical clinic on July 20 was an attempt to draw world attention to ongoing attacks by Burmese soldiers on Karen civilians.
Best known for his role as Pavel Chekov on the long-running and iconic television series “Star Trek,” Koenig visited the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, run by Dr Cynthia Maung, and which caters for the needs of Thailand’s growing Karen refugee population.
Koenig is also scheduled to meet members of the media at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok on July 24.
The trip was organized by the US Campaign for Burma, a Washington, DC-based lobby group.
Koenig’s visit follows an earlier trip in June by American television actor Eric Szmanda from the hit series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Koenig is best known for his role as the likeable, perpetually cheerful Pavel Chekov on Star Trek and the hated, intensely driven Alfred Bester on Babylon 5.
Koenig’s film work includes appearances in the seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations.
US Campaign for Burma is trying to organize US celebrities to become involved in promoting Burma's struggle for democracy and human rights, especially in eastern Burma, where fighting over the past 10 years has forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
“Famous actors can speak up about Burma through the media so the UN Security Council can know this eastern Burma civil war disaster,” Jeremy Woodrum, the campaign director for US Campaign for Burma, told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
Best known for his role as Pavel Chekov on the long-running and iconic television series “Star Trek,” Koenig visited the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, run by Dr Cynthia Maung, and which caters for the needs of Thailand’s growing Karen refugee population.
Koenig is also scheduled to meet members of the media at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok on July 24.
The trip was organized by the US Campaign for Burma, a Washington, DC-based lobby group.
Koenig’s visit follows an earlier trip in June by American television actor Eric Szmanda from the hit series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Koenig is best known for his role as the likeable, perpetually cheerful Pavel Chekov on Star Trek and the hated, intensely driven Alfred Bester on Babylon 5.
Koenig’s film work includes appearances in the seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations.
US Campaign for Burma is trying to organize US celebrities to become involved in promoting Burma's struggle for democracy and human rights, especially in eastern Burma, where fighting over the past 10 years has forced 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
“Famous actors can speak up about Burma through the media so the UN Security Council can know this eastern Burma civil war disaster,” Jeremy Woodrum, the campaign director for US Campaign for Burma, told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
