Letter from Koenig
Andrew Koenig responds to Thursday's post:
Hi Todd,I wanted to take this opportunity to explain what I
protested and why I chose the Rose Parade.I have been actively involved with helping bring
awareness to the plight of the Burmese people since
July. I went to Thailand to document refugees of the
brutal military dictatorship in Burma (Myanmar). Many
of these people were imprisoned and tortured for
wanting the same freedom we enjoy here.China sits on the UN Security council and has refused
to condemn the acts of the Burmese military. That's
probably because they buy gas from Burma and sell them
weapons. China is currently trying to show the world a
good face in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics. My
intention was to bring attention to China's
hypocritical situation.I chose the Rose Parade because of the Beijing Olympic
float's presence and the presence of the TV cameras.
Unfortunately, to keep important issues like this in
the news, sometimes people have to pull stunts to get
attention.
It is sad, but a true state of our media. The ironic
things is, I was in the street with my sign, "China:
Save Burma", for all of about 10 seconds before I was
arrested. So not that many people saw my action, but
luckily websites like yours make mention of it.
The president elect of Burma who was never allowed to
take power, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu
Kyi, was once asked what could people outside Burma do
to help. She replied, "Use your freedom to promote
ours."
So that is what I did. I live in a great country where
protest is allowed. Yes I was arrested, but I wasn't
tortured. That's a hell of lot better than the people
of Burma can say. To learn more, please visit
www.uscampaignforburma.org .
Peace, Andrew Koenig
UNDER THE DOME
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