Actor Jim Carrey To Give Speech In New York Calling for UN Security Council
As Burma's Regime Crushes Monks Protest, Event to Take Place In Building Across Street from United Nations
Contact: Jeremy Woodrum (202) 246-7924
(New York, United Nations)
After a brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks, students, and other civilians in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, actor and comedian Jim Carrey will give a speech in New York calling for the UN Security Council to take action and pass an immediate resolution. Specifically, Carrey will call for the Council to ban all international arms shipments to Burma.
The talk comes on the same day that the UN Security Council meets to hear a briefing from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari. Observers expect that after the briefing, countries will weigh further steps including a possible resolution banning arms sales to Burma's military regime.
In his speech, Carrey will appeal to China, Russia, and India to support such a move.
The event will take place at 2:30 pm on Friday, October 5th at 777 UN Plaza on the 8th Floor in the Boss Room. The building is on the corner of 44th St. and 1st Avenue, across from the United Nations. The event is organized by the Human Rights Action Center and supported by the US Campaign for Burma. Jack Healey, the founder of the Human Rights Action Center will also speak, and Jeremy Woodrum of the US Campaign for Burma will offer comments.
Burma is ruled by one of the world's most brutal military dictatorships. The regime has locked up approximately 5,000 political prisoners and detainees, recruited more child soldiers than any other country in the world, and destroyed 3,000 villages -- forcing 1.5 million people to flee as refugees and internally displaced.
Over the past month the world has seen images and photos of hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks and civilians marching, calling for human rights and democracy. The peaceful, nonviolent protestors have been dubbed the "Saffron Revolution", based on the color of the monks robes.
Carry is one of many Hollywood celebrities to join the effort to support human rights and democracy in Burma, with a focus on Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Last month, 28 Hollywood celebrities led by Anjelica Huston and including Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Eric Szmanda, Dustin Hoffman, and others sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling on him to immediately intervene to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy in Burma.##
posted by Jack Healey at 11:29 PM
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