Indy Contemplates Events in Myanmar

A trio of events spotlighting the crisis in Myanmar (the country formerly known as Burma) starts Wednesday in Indianapolis.

A Candlelight Vigil for Peace, Democracy and Freedom in Burma will be held from 6:30-7 p.m. Wednesday (3 October) on Democracy Plaza at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. It's sponsored by the IUPUI Burma Student Association. Organizer is Aye-Nu Elizabeth Duerksen (at right).

A discussion on "Burma In Crisis" sponsored by Provocate.org is planned from 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday (4 October) in the offices of the International Center of Indianapolis, 32 East Washington Street, Indianapolis. According to the organizer John Clark (above, left): "Featured will be Burmese activists and scholars who have helped draft the new constitution for their country. They will help clarify the context and implications of the events we see on the streets of Rangoon."

Provocate.org also has arranged "Burma Beautiful/Burma Brutal: Images & Ideas from a Country on the Edge" from 6-9 p.m. Friday (5 October) in the Harrison Center for the Arts, 1505 North Delaware Street, Indianapolis. John Clark notes: "This will be a multimedia presentation of images and videos from Burma, which will serve as a backdrop for informal conversations about topics such as the prospects for peaceful change, political dimensions of Buddhism in Tibet and Burma, challenges of Burmese communities in Indiana, and other topics. Featured will be: Photos and art from Burma by Indianapolis artist Jude Odell; Images from 'The Sold Project', a documentary in production by Indiana 20-somethings exposing the human side of sex slavery in Burma; Photos from refugees camps on the Burmese-Thai border by Emily Jacobi, an Indianapolis photo-journalist; Video montage of current street protests by Geo-Pol analyst Pedro Cardoso; Burmese scholars and dissidents from Indiana University's Center for Constitutional Democracy in Pluralist Societies, who are drafting a constitution for a democratic Burma; Members of the Chin and Karen ethnic minorities from Burma now in living Indianapolis."

Clark adds that Provocate.org "is delighted to present two major events this week about the current situation in Burma. Some day, perhaps soon, a democratic Burma will bear the faint stamp: 'Made in Indiana'. Burmese dissidents and constitutional scholars are drafting a new constitution in Bloomington. Ties between the state and crisis-ridden Burma will intensify if things turn badly, too: Indianapolis is the major destination for refugees from Burma, and we will get a lot more if the goons in Rangoon respond as brutally as they have in the past."