AU students joined other members of the D.C. community Friday to protest Myanmar's response to citizens' calls for democracy in front of the Myanmar embassy. The group then walked to the Chinese embassy to protest China's refusal to intervene in the crackdown on democracy advocates in Myanmar.
Myanmar, which was formerly known as Burma, is controlled by a military junta that is accused of numerous human-rights violations and is responsible for killing several people last week during a peaceful protest in Myanmar, BBC World News reported.
"Several hundred people have been killed," said Leslie Miller, the president of AU's Student Campaign for Burma and a graduate student in the School of International Service. "It's completely unacceptable."
She has been involved with the campaign since her trip to the Thai-Myanmar border last year. The protest in front of the Chinese embassy is important because China has the power to make a change in Myanmar, Miller said.
"China is the one country that really has the military and diplomatic leverage over the regime to do something," Miller said.
Many of the protesters said they felt the same way about China's lack of involvement. A crowd of about 100 people stood in front of the Chinese embassy, chanting "Boycott the Olympics," referring to the summer Olympic Games being held in Beijing in 2008.
"This could be a bloody Olympics," said Christine Gettings, staff adviser for the Student Campaign for Burma. "They know that while China may be putting on a front that they're open to the Olympics, they know that they have the blood of the Burmese people on their hands."
Other countries do not agree with China's passivity toward the Myanmar government, said Gettings, an SIS graduate student. Countries that have a part in this movement include Syria and Sudan, she said.
"There's a growing global movement that's pressuring them to stop supporting Burma's military regime," she said.
The protesters, mostly dressed in red, shouted they wanted freedom, justice and democracy for the Myanmar people. Some people who drove past the demonstration in front of the Chinese embassy honked their horns in response to a sign that read "Honk if you support democracy in Burma."
"Burma has had a very vibrant democracy movement for about 18 or 19 years now," Gettings said. "We find it important for us to show solidarity with the people of Burma."
Protesters sat on the ground and meditated, while Myanmar monks sang in their native language.
Protests like these are important to remind the world of the struggles of the Myanmar people, said Gillian Morrison, an SIS graduate student.
"A lot of small countries tend to get lost in the shuffle," she said. "When Burma is off the radar, then you don't have to mess around with sticky issues like democracy."
Miller said she expects in the next eight to 10 months leading up to the Olympics that more demonstrations will take place to protest China's hypocrisy and to push for a change in Myanmar.
"If anyone's watching the news and is not completely motivated to do something, then I don't know," she said. "You should want to do something"
