Burma pro-democracy activism enters "Panties for Peace" stage

Activists send female underwear to Burmese embassies

   Martin Hodgson
   Friday October 19, 2007
   Guardian Unlimited

   Activists exasperated at the failure of diplomacy to apply pressure on
   Burma's military regime are resorting to a new means of protest against
   the regime's recent crackdown: sending female underwear to Burmese embassies.

   Embassies in the UK, Thailand, Australia and Singapore have all been
   targeted by the "Panties for Peace" campaign, co-ordinated by an activist
   group based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

   The manoeuvre is a calculated insult to the junta and its leader, General
   Than Shwe. Superstitious junta members believe that any contact with female
   undergarments - clean or dirty - will sap them of their power, said Jackie
   Pollack, a member of the Lanna Action for Burma Committee.

   "Not only are they brutal, but they are also very superstitious. They
   believe that touching a woman's pants or sarong will make them lose their
   strength," Ms Pollack told Guardian Unlimited.

   So far, hundreds of pairs of pants have been posted, according to another
   campaigner, Liz Hilton. "One group sent 140 pairs to the Burmese embassy
   in Geneva," she said...   Read on>>