Postcard

• Have a look at the film featuring UK comedian Andy Parsons talking about the postcard campaign.
• Contact Equity to get your free, pre-printed postcards and post them to the Burmese government (address is printed on the cards).
• Tell your family, friends, colleagues and networks about the campaign and encourage them to get postcards too.
• If you are a stand-up comedian or other performer - tell your audiences about Zarganar, the postcard campaign and how they can help.
• Use your Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to tell people about the campaign.

Appeals

• Send appeals to the Burmese (Myanmar) Embassy in your country. Ask that it be forwarded to the Burmese authorities and welcome comments.
• Organise a petition and send it to the Burmese Embassy. Request a meeting with the ambassador.
• Write to your parliamentarians or other government representatives.

Press and publicity

• Write Letters to the Editor of the newspaper you read. Highlight Zarganar's case as an example of political oppression in Burma.
• Post flyers in libraries and other cultural institutions.

Events

• Organise a reading night to highlight the works of Zarganar and other imprisoned artists in Burma. Invite the press.

Sakharov Prize - Write to your MP

We need your help in getting Zarganar nominated for the European Parliament’s 2010 Sakharov Prize. We feel that if he were to win this year’s Sakharov Prize that this would help to raise greater awareness of his case and of the continuing human rights abuses in Burma.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?language=en&id=42

We need to get 40 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to nominate Zarganar and to help us achieve this goal, we urge you to write to your MEP explaining why they should support Zarganar’s nomination.

If you are a UK resident, you can find out who your MEP is by clicking here:
http://www.writetothem.com/

If you live elsewhere in Europe you can find the relevant MEP for your area here:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/searchForm.do?language=EN

SAMPLE LETTER:

[Please do write a more personal letter if you have time – the following is just an example]

Your address here

Dear ,

I am writing to ask you to nominate imprisoned Burmese comedian and writer, Zarganar, for the European Parliament’s 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Zarganar, Burma’s best-known comedian, is renowned for using satire and humour to draw attention to political repression and human rights abuses in his country, and to encourage the Burmese people to speak out against injustice. In 2008 he was arrested and sentenced to 59 years in prison for speaking out against the Burmese government’s inadequate response to the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis, which killed approximately 200,000 people. His sentence was reduced to 35 years on appeal.

Zarganar is a prisoner of conscience who has made a fundamental contribution to the defence of human rights and the promotion of freedom of expression in Burma.

For more information about Zarganar please refer to http://www.freezarganar.org

I hope that you will agree that Zarganar would be a worthy recipient of the 2010 Sakharov Prize and that you will support his nomination for this prestigious award.

Yours sincerely,