WHAT: North America Campaign for Free Burma - Pasadena and LA Stop

            Kyaw Sithu, a Burmese refugee forced to flee his motherland after the 1988 democracy uprising, will be in Los
            Angeles as part of his cross-continent solo drive called North America Campaign for Free Burma Road Trip.
                                      (See below for details).
              A caravan will follow him at all the stops.
              He will stop at the Pasadena City Hall for a Rally and stop at Mayor Bogaard's house to deliver a letter to the Mayor.

DATE:   Sunday, December 16, 2007

               9:30 a.m. La Puente Burma Buddhist Temple 
              10:00 a.m. Caravan Parade around San Gabriel Valley
              11:30 a.m. Break for lunch, La Puente Monastery.
                1:30 p.m. Leave for Pasadena
                2:00 p.m. Pasadena City Hall
                                100 N Garfield Ave, Pasadena. Ca. 91109
                                 Rally for Free Burma
                2:45 p.m. Caravan to Mayor Bogaard's house
                                Deliver letter of protest
                3:00 p.m. Caravan to Consulate of the Peoples Republic of China
                                 433 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, 90020
                                  Rally for Free Burma
                3:45 p.m. Caravan to Hollywood Kodak Theater
                4:30 p.m. Caravan to Santa Monica
                5:30 p.m.  Caravan to Jasmine Restaurant in Culver City

CONTACT INFORMATION: Pyi Maung (626) 607-5100 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Organizer for Free Burma Drive in LA
                                                  or 310-539-0234

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
        The people of Burma have been forced to live under the brutal military dictatorship since 1962. Many attempts to restore freedom and democracy have been violently crushed by the Burmese military. The latest violent crackdown by the military regime began when thousands of protestors led by monks took to the streets in September 2007 to peacefully protest rising costs of basic commodities and political reform. The world simply stood by and watched as the "Saffron Revolution" unfolded in Burma where protestors and onlookers were beaten, gunned down and hauled to prisons known for torturing and killing political prisoners.  Despite the brutal military crackdown, the brave non violent struggles continues and the people of Burma need your help more than ever. 
       Burmese and Burmese monks have testified in front of the Pasadena City Council and the Pasaden Commission on Human Relations about China's complicity on human rights violations in Burma.   On October 29, the Pasadena City Council voted against the Commission recommendations in making a strong statement about China's human rights violations.  Mayor Bogaard's subsequent letter to the Sisters Cities even identified those testimonies as merely "allegations".

North American Campaign for Free Burma Road Trip

Si Thu at Atlanta GA, 6 Dec'07
 
Kyaw Sithu, a Burmese refugee forced to flee his motherland after 1988 democracy uprising, will be in Los Angeles on December 16 as part of his North America Campaign for Free Burma Road Trip. We will be welcoming and joining him in LA as we drive around in strategic places of LA to raise awareness of horrific situation in Burma. We encourage everyone to join our caravan on Sunday December 16 at LaPuente Temple at 9.30 a.m . To quote SiThu, "Free Burma is definitely possible, only when people do their part to set her free".
 
A Burmese refugee is driving his car across North America as part of Free Burma Campaign aimed to raise awareness of humanitarian crisis and brutality going on in military-ruled Burma. His solo driving journey started out on December 1, 2007 at Toronto, Canada where he lives. His car, emblazoned with the word "Free Burma", pictures of Burma's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi among others, turns many heads as he drives through major cities in the U.S as part of a 15,436 kilometre drive across America stopping off at key cities to address politicians, dignitaries, campaigners and Burmese exiles.
 
His first stop was at Washington D.C where he met and received encouragement from Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government Union of Burma (NCGUB) and he stopped to demonstrate outside the Burmese Embassy. From there, he drove west across the country to LA, making his return from LA to Canada along the Pacific coast through Vancouver and finally arriving in Toronto.
 
No one in Burmese community has ever done this and SiThu finds the campaign challenging with his limited finances and yet rewarding at the same time as the driving campaign has picked up media attention on Burma's ongoing human rights abuses. The most challenging part is he only has one month to do the whole trip.

Meanwhile his internet blog, updated daily and detailing the progress of the journey is proving extremely popular with over 5131 hits (3878 International visitors) and over 200s well wishers leaving messages of support.

"This is amazing!" wrote Jason from UK "talk about drive and enthusiasm! This guy really is going the extra mile to stand up for what he believes in", and Poeziwa said,

"Following the Buddhist Monks protest in September and their subsequent brutal suppression it is vital that the international community maintains the pressure on the Military junta, who have ruled Burma since 1962 to finally embrace democracy and respect human rights."  Said Jeg for the Burma Global Action Network who are supporting the drive.

Si Thu is available for interviews along the route of the journey.

Contact: Si Thu                                                                         (OR)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                                                      Judi Gomez (Jeg) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [Australia]
Cell:  (240) 750-9591 [U.S contact]                                                    
Web blog: http://drivingforburma.blogspot.com/

News Tip
"Driving for Burma" Campaign in protest of the Burmese dictatorship currently ruling the motherland.
 
Despite indignation over deliberate shooting of Buddhist Monks and civilians in Burma last September'07 supporters are trying to create international public awareness of the critical inhumanities and political chaos of the Burmese dictatorship and encourage the military rulers to embrace democracy.
 
The "Driving for Burma" initiative has come from Si Thu, a Canadian resident who presently is driving his way into Los Angeles to meet other supporters, politicians, businessmen interested in discussing solutions to the present political situation affecting Burmeses in the motherland. 
Si Thu's  driving started in Toronto on 1st December'07 and it will go until 1st January'08.
 
Si Thu is available for interviews in Los Angeles from mid afternoon onwards on Sat 15 or 16th and in San Francisco from 17th or 18th December'07.

VIDEO