What can you do right now for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?

Many of you have written to us in the past few days asking what you can do to support Aung San Suu Kyi while she stands trial before a special court inside Burma's notorious Insein Prison.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been imprisoned for 13 of the last 19 years.  On Monday, less than two weeks before her current term of house arrest was set to expire, Burma's military junta began trying Suu Kyi for the ridiculous "crime" of violating the conditions of her house arrest because an American intruder trespassed in her home. 

Many world leaders have expressed outraged over this show trial.  You can stay up to date on the latest breaking news and what people are saying on the News section of our website.  Also, check out this editorial published yesterday in the New York Times: Myanmar's Cowardly Generals.

On Monday, as Suu Kyi's trial began, demonstrators rallied in the US (including Washington, DC, San Francisco, Boston and New York), the UK, India, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Canada, Thailand, New Zealand and many other places around the world to demand her release.  Additional demonstrations are planned thoughout the week. 

Here are some actions you can take right now to support Aung San Suu Kyi:


(Photo: Demonstrators rally outside the regime's embassy in Washington, DC on Monday)

1) Today, you received another email from USCB specifically targeted to people in your state, if you live in the US.  This email asks you to call your congressperson to ask that they sign on to a "Dear Colleague" letter to President Obama regarding a UN Security Council commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma.  Please take a few minutes to read the instructions in that email and make that crucial phone call - it is very important.
2) 493 people in 45 countries around the world have signed up to participate in "Arrest Yourself 2009" in solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi.  They have committed to putting themselves under house arrest for 24 hours between now and Suu Kyi's 64th birthday on June 19th.  If you haven't signed up yet, be sure to do so today.  This is a simple and effective way to take action, educate others, and support the work of the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

3) There is a worldwide effort to collect 888,888 signatures on a petition to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisonsers in Burma. Over 300,000 signatures have already been collected.  If you haven't signed already, please do so today.
Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment is an outrage. Thank you for taking action for her freedom.  If you have already done each of these things and would still like to help, please don't hesitate to call our offices at (202) 234-8022 to speak with Mike or Jeremy about how you can use your personal skills and talents to do more for Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma.