The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners and the Former Political Prisoner Society are calling on supporters from around the world to take photographs of their participation in their 2015 Palm Campaign, a repeat of the earlier 2010 campaign that showed photographs of famous and little known people with the name of a Myanmar political prisoner on their hand.
27 January 2015| Written by Mizzima | Published in Myanmar
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners and the Former Political Prisoner Society are calling on supporters from around the world to take photographs of their participation in their 2015 Palm Campaign, a repeat of the earlier 2010 campaign that showed photographs of famous and little known people with the name of a Myanmar political prisoner on their hand.
The campaign, launched on January 26, aims to show the Myanmar government as it prepares for the 2015 general elections that the international community stands in solidarity with political prisoners, and demands lasting reform in Myanmar.
The 2015 Palm Campaign: “Even Though I’m Free I Am Not,” will culminate on March 13 – Myanmar’s Human Rights Day – by showcasing photographs of the support and solidarity from across the world at an exhibition in Yangon.
AAPP says that as of January 2015, there are 186 political prisoners in Myanmar’s jails, over double the amount in January 2014. This is in stark contrast to the government’s promise that all political prisoners would be released by the end of 2013. Moreover, with a further 222 activists awaiting trial, the number of political prisoners is set to increase in the coming months.
The two NGOs say the steady rise in the number of political prisoners in the last year makes clear that the government is increasingly cracking down on fundamental freedoms.
The 2015 Palm Campaign calls for an end to the use of oppressive laws to harass, arrest and imprison political activists, the unconditional release of current political prisoners, and real lasting judicial and legislative reform in Myanmar.
The campaign calls for people around the world to write a name of a political prisoner on their right palm, taken from a list of prisoners the NGOs supply, take a self-portrait photo with the right palm and name showing, and email it to their campaign. It also calls for people to use social media to spread the message.
The 2010 campaign included photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Zarganar and the late U Win Tin.
Last modified on Tuesday, 27 January 2015 18:17
