The twenty-year-old daughter of a Burmese political prisoner sentenced to 65 years in prison, is due to speak about her experiences on the annual Global Day of Prayer for Burma on Saturday 7 March.

Wai Hnin Pwint Thon will join Baroness Caroline Cox, CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers, and Premier Christian Radio’s Cindy Kent, as a speaker at an all-day event in Westminster on Saturday. The day is being hosted by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) together with Karen Aid and Partners Relief and Development.

Wai Hnin will be interviewed by Cindy Kent on the day, and will tell her story of her family’s harassment by Burma’s military regime. Her father, Mya Aye, has been in prison for much of her life, and has recently been jailed again for his peaceful pro-democracy activities.

Fearing her own arrest, Wai Hnin came to the UK in 2005 and now volunteers at the Burma Campaign UK, assisting their work in releasing Burma’s many political prisoners. Her eight year old sister still lives with her mother in Rangoon.

Baroness Cox will speak about the plight of the Chin people and present evidence of a severe famine unfolding in Chin State, western Burma.

CSW recently returned from a fact-finding visit to the Thai-Burmese border with evidence of human rights violations in Karen State. Mr Rogers will present an update on the situation at the day of prayer.

CSW is now urging the UN secretary general to intensify efforts to facilitate a process of meaningful dialogue between Burma’s military regime, the democracy movement and the ethnic nationalities.

The Global Day of Prayer for Burma first began in 1997, initiated by Christians Concerned for Burma at the request of Burma’s democracy leader, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It has since become an internationally recognised event attended by those struggling to see an end to suffering in Burma.

Mr Rogers said: “Burma urgently needs prayer and action. A land ruled by one of the world’s most brutal regimes, guilty of every possible human rights violation amounting to crimes against humanity, it is spiralling into further humanitarian and political crisis.

"We urge people around the world to join us on this Day of Prayer, and we hope many people will come to the event in London, to hear first-hand stories of Burma’s suffering and to get involved in efforts to end Burma’s pain.”


The day of prayer will take place on Saturday 7 March at the Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW (nearest tubes: Victoria and Westminster) from 10am-5pm.