“The real disaster in Burma is the government”,

Flash mob for Burma hits London


A “flash mob” for Burma will hit London tonight as campaigners urge commuters to remember victims of the cyclone and decades of human rights abuses in the country.

Fifty-three days after cyclone Nargis tore through Burma, a British human rights organisation is gathering crowds to watch a video, beamed onto Waterloo station, that highlights the plight of the victims trapped in the dictatorship.
The Burma Campaign UK will use slick advertising with celebrity endorsement to focus attention on the junta’s appalling human rights record, which it says led to thousands of deaths after the cyclone.

Johnny Chatterton, of the campaign said: “The crisis in Burma has been going on for decades. It comes as no surprise that the regime denied aid to the victims, they have routinely denied aid in the country.”

He added that tonight’s “flash mob”, a spontaneous gathering of people arranged via the internet, was hastily organised but would be high impact and include videos and posters, designed by ad giants Ogilvy.

The animated advert features the voice of actor and comedian Ricky Gervais who tells viewers “In Burma there are no fairy tale endings, because the government is a military dictatorship that tortures and kills people. Please use your freedom to gain theirs.”
A giant video of it will be projected onto Waterloo station in London at 9.45pm tonight, when it is dark enough for it to be seen.

The campaign’s slogan, “The real disaster in Burma is the government”, focuses on a character called Khin Mar a five-year-old girl victim of the junta’s apathy to the cyclone and abuse of human rights.
Mr Chatterton said: “If the Burmese regime cared about its people they wouldn’t leave storm victims to die, shoot at peaceful protestors and rape 5 year-old-girls, like Khin Mar.
“The regime in Burma turned a natural disaster into a man-made catastrophe, even as victims were dying in the Irrawaddy Delta the Burmese army were continuing their atrocities in Eastern Burma, burning villages and raping women.”