What is so special about the date – 8.8.88
8TH AUGUST 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most sad and tragic days in the history of modern Burma. On 8th August 1988 upwards of 3,000 students and supporters demonstrating on the streets of Rangoon, Mandalay, and other Burmese towns were brutally massacred by the military, who have been in power for almost 50 years.
What is so special about the date – 8.8.88
8TH AUGUST 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most sad and tragic days in the history of modern Burma. On 8th August 1988 upwards of 3,000 students and supporters demonstrating on the streets of Rangoon, Mandalay, and other Burmese towns were brutally massacred by the military, who have been in power for almost 50 years.
In memory of those young martyrs and also remembering the courageous Buddhist monks who took to the streets last Autumn, we cannot let this significant date pass without marking it here in this city of Dublin, of which Aung San Suu Kyi, icon of democracy for her beleaguered people, is an honoured Freewoman.
We are therefore organizing a public commemoration on 8th August 2008 to which we will welcome a busload of Burmese refugees recently arrived in Ireland and who are settled in Ballina and Castlebar. These people are from the Karen state, one of the states of Burma which has suffered much under the generals junta. They are happy to be in the safe haven of Ireland and are keen to come to join us for this special occasion in Dublin. They will number about thirty and will be proud to wear their traditional ethnic costumes, thereby adding a special authentic flavour to the day. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr. Eibhlin Byrne will receive them in the Mansion House.
Details of the demonstration are as follows:
DATE: Friday 8.8.2008
TIME: 12 Noon
PLACE: O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 – Central island, opposite GPO
We urge all members, friends, and supporters to make a special effort to come along to show support for the struggle for freedom of the oppressed people of Burma.
Gearoid Kilgallen
Chairperson – Burma Action Ireland
Tel: 01-2800866 / 087 126 1857
Email: gkilgallen@hotmail.com / info@burmaactionireland.org
