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Women asked to send panties to Burma embassy
Updated Tue. May. 27 2008 5:01 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadian human rights groups are calling on women to take part in a unique protest against Burma's military junta.

The Quebec Women's Federation and the activist group Rights and Democracy are coordinating the Canadian edition of "Panties for Peace!" -- an international campaign to pressure the Burmese government towards democratic reforms.

Organizers say the idea began after the Burmese government cracked down on pro-democracy activists. Last fall, pro-reform demonstrations led by monks garnered international attention after the military attacked protesters and arrested their leaders.

The idea behind the campaign has to do with the superstitious beliefs of Burma's military leaders. Human rights activists say the leaders believe that contact with women's underwear will sap them of their power. Women -- and by extension their clothing -- are considered inferior by powerful men in Burma, say campaign organizers.

"The campaign was launched by women from Burma," Rights and Democracy spokesperson Mika Levesque told CTV Newsnet from Montreal.

"They believe this is a very powerful message to the military because they are very superstitious."

Levesque says the campaign allows Burmese women to empower themselves in a non-violent way against a repressive and brutal regime.

"They are in a different culture. There are taboos against women, so what the women of Burma have done is use it. Instead of being victims, they use it to fight back," Levesque said.

Burmese activist Thet Thet Tun told CTV Newsnet on Tuesday, "We want Canadians to know about women and discrimination against our democratic reforms."

"I think (underwear) that has already been worn will be most effective to put them to shame."

The campaign also highlights crimes against women, particularly by the military.

"It's been very well documented that rape has been used as a weapon of war in Burma. Soldiers go into villages and they systematically rape women. They have also used women as sexual slaves," Levesque said.

The "Panties for Peace!" campaign coincides with an announcement Tuesday that Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will have her house arrest extended. The pro-democracy activist has been in detention for more than a dozen years.

In recent weeks, Burma's military junta has come under international criticism its response to Cyclone Nargis. It's been accused of being slow to allow international aid into the country after the cyclone killed tens of thousand of people.

Organizers say they want Canadian women to gather their panties and send them to Burma's embassy in Ottawa to help the Burmese people achieve democracy.

...as much as i'd like to make a joke about this...i dont think i'm able to. it speaks for itself

Invading them would be so much easier though

Do you know much panties a B-52 could drop on those fuckers?

hey girls, make an effort ---> skid marks for peace

I would encourage them to do the same thing here

So, do we only care about Burma because of the typhoon? Because before the typhoon, nobody cared about Burma.

Whoa whoa whoa, I distinctly remember the protests a few years back and the pro democracy supporter being imprisoned. Although, I would imagine that the Rambo film helped greatly to increase publicity.

Yeah, Suu Kyi has been imprisoned for years now. Where has Panties For Peace been all this time?