www.AllBurmaRefugees.

org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb 2, 2010

Contact: Simon Khin, Coalition for Refugees from Burma – (206) 697-5743,
SimonKhin@AllBurmaRefugees.org
Contact: Erika Berg, Organizer, Exiled Voices for Justice – (206) 694-5780, eberg@lcsnw.org

SEATTLE EVENT SHOWCASES ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE

PROMINENT REFUGEE MONK FROM BURMA‟S 2007 SAFFRON REVOLUTION, BURMESE

REFUGEES, AND HUNDREDS OF SUPPORTERS JOIN HANDS IN SEATTLE FOR SCREENING
OF OSCAR-NOMINATED “BURMA VJ: REPORTING FROM A CLOSED COUNTRY.”

SEATTLE – Saffron Revolution monks, refugees, exiles, and supporters from the Southeast Asian
country of Burma (Myanmar) will join hands at Seattle University‟s Pigott Auditorium at 11am on
Sunday February 7, 2010, for a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary „Burma VJ‟ with
panel discussion featuring Buddhist refugee monk advocate, U Pyinya Zawta, Executive Director
of All Burma Monks Alliance.

„Burma VJ‟ has won over 40 international prizes including British Documentary Awards,
Sundance Film Festival, US National Board of Review, and San Francisco International Film
Festival. Today, the film is nominated to be one of the five finalists for Academy Award for
Documentary Feature, one of the most prestigious awards for documentary films.

Golden-Globe winning actor Richard Gere commented “It is desperately important that people
see this film and get involved in the movement to help Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi.”

“Please don‟t persecute people. Please don‟t imprison people. Please don‟t torture people. Please
don‟t kill people. Please release the political prisoners. Those were our pleas from the Saffron
Revolution.” said Venerable U Pyinya Zawta, a monk leader of the 2007 Saffron Revolution and a
political prisoner in Burma for 10 years. U Pyinya Zawta will speak at this Sunday‟s event.

Burma‟s military regime crushed the non-violent protests led by Buddhist clergy in September,
2007, named the “Saffron Revolution,” echoing its infamous bloody crackdown on the student-led
uprising on August 8, 1988, when over 3,000 were killed. Following Cyclone Nargis, which killed
over 150,000 people and displaced over 2 million others in 2008, Burma‟s military generals
hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid. Despite international outcry, the regime is moving
forward with elections in 2010 that activists believe will only further entrench the military regime.

Over 50 years of civil war have left Burma one of the poorest countries in the world. The military
dictatorship attacks its own people, killing thousands, and leaving millions displaced.

Refugees from Burma currently are the largest group of refugees being resettled in the United
States. Over 2200 refugees from Burma have resettled in Washington State, the majority of them
living in the Greater Seattle area. For details about refugees from Burma in Washington State:
www.allburmarefugees.org

For details about Sunday‟s screening and panel discussion: www.exiledvoicesforjustice.org