Several students on campus dressed up as Burmese Monks and were taken captive by a mock military junta as part of an Amnesty International demonstration last Friday.
The protest, which took place between 12 and 2pm, when most people would be on campus, aimed to raise awareness about social injustice in Burma by having a group of soldiers arrest the group of monks and then holding them captive in an area of campus.
The students were inspired to stage their demonstration out of respect to members of a group of Burmese students who, in 2007, were arrested and imprisoned after attempting to criticise the government of Burma. They also wanted to bring the issues of ongoing night raids, arbitrary arrests and appalling detention conditions to the forefront of people’s minds with the hope of eventually bringing an end to the oppression of innocent people in Burma.
Chair of York’s Amnesty International society, Ashley Holding, told Vision: “the response that we had from the student population was great, most people we talked to on the day were very positive about the campaign and we managed to gather hundreds of signatures for the petition.”
He also emphasised that students still have an important part to play in such campaigns: “It’s important not to underestimate the value of a demonstration such as this. Activists who are fighting for their rights in Burma can, and do, see images and reports of these events, and are inspired to keep on their struggle for freedom and democracy.”