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Charm Tong with the President
From Threat to the Peace
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Notes from a conference in Washington
Liz and I attended a conference on October 26 at the Brookings Institution
with many colleagues, NGO workers, government officers, and a few refugees
from Burma. One was Charm Tong, a young woman who fled Burma some years ago.
She been very active in promoting the cause of Human Rights particularly
among Shan women. In 2002 working with SWAN, the Shan Women's Active
Network, she help to write "License to Rape" which documents systematic
abuse of Shan women by the Burmese military. She presented an update on the
situation there at the conference. Later she was fortunate to have a meeting
with President Bush to plead the cause of her people and all people of
Burma. (I suppose I should add that the Brackett Foundation supports two of
her sisters in university in Thailand. I should also add that I did not take
this picture, but I did see it from more than one source on the internet.)
An interesting panel discussion brought together Peter Yeo, US House
Committee on International Relations, Heng Chee Chan, Ambassador from
Singapore to the United States, and Jared Genser, of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray
Cary a global law firm. Peter Yeo expressed the standard position that the
US is interested in having ASEAN, the association of south eastern Asian
nations, put increased pressure on Burma to change their deplorable behavior
towards their people, and to deal seriously with the forces of democracy in
Burma. Jared Genser discussed a report commissioned by Nobel Laureates
Desmond Tutu and Václav Havel , and prepared by his firm calling to the UN
Security Council for action on the Burma issue. Heng Chee Chan made clear
that from the point of view of most if not all of the nations in ASEAN,
pressure would be counterproductive, and have the effect of increasing the
already strong isolation of Burma from the society of free nations. For an
American who impatiently looks for solutions to the long standing problems
of that country, it was an instructive debate. The picture is taken from the
cover of the report "Threat to Peace" discussed by Jared Genser.
If you are interested in a copy of this document, you may contact Jared
Genser, Esq.; DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP; 1200 Nineteenth St., NW;
Washington, D.C. 20036-2412. |
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October, November Activities
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Oct.–Nov.: Receiving and processing donations from our annual fund drive.
(If you have given to us yet this year, please make your gift as soon as
you can.)
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Oct. 23: Visited First Parish Church in Weston, Massachusetts. Tom
discussed the origins and motivations of the Brackett Foundation, and Liz
gave a picture discussion of refugees to the church school children.
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Oct. 26: Attended a conference on "Burma: Looking Forward" in Washington,
D.C.
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Early Nov.: Formulating plans to meet with the Open Society Institute in
New York city, to discuss common interests in education for refugees.
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Nov. 1: Attending a conference on "Non-Profit Best Practices" in Syracuse.
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Nov. 10-12: Submitted letters of enquiry to the Bill & Melissa Gates
Foundation, the Global Children's Fund, and the Omidyar Network,
concerning cooperation to help Chin children in Mizoram.
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Nov. 14: Met with Maureen Aung-Thwin of the Open Society Institute to
discuss possibilities for cooperation to help the Chin people in Mizoram
State India.
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We hope you are all
well and happy,
Tom & Liz
Brackett
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