[Mitai-announce] Updates on Darfur and Burma

[Elan Pavlov]

This Wednesday we will have two diplomatic updates on situations that we 
at Amnesty have been following.
At 7pm we will have an update on the situation in Darfur from Alex de 
Waal who has been involved in the peace talks. This will be held in room 
4-270. This event is hosted by MIT STAND (http://mitdarfur.org/ and 
facebook group http://mit.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5163304921).
At 8pm we will have an update on the situation in Burma from Mark 
McDowell who is a Canadian diplomat responsible for Burma. This will be 
held in room 56-114.
Please come to one or both of these events.

Details follow below:

Update on the situation in Darfur:
==================================
Alex de Waal is the director of Justice Africa, based in London, a fellow 
of Harvard's Global Equity Initiative, and an expert on the current 
situation in Darfur, Sudan in northeast Africa.  He has been involved in 
the peace negotiations in Sudan, and more specifically, Darfur, for the 
past decade.  As the war is escalating and the genocide continues in that 
region, Alex and others are searching for a long-lasting solution to the 
conflict.  He has written several books on this topic, including his 
latest, just released, entitled "War in Darfur and the Search for Peace." 
Come hear him talk about the current situation in Darfur, what can be done 
in the future to alleviate the violence, and his new book.

7:00-Presentation
7:40-Q&A
8:15-Book signing (for those interested in buying his new book)


Update on the situation in Burma:
=================================
On Wednesday at 8pm we will have an update about the situation in 
Burma in 56-114. This event is co-sponsored by the MIT Amnesty 
chapter and the Amnesty International Northeast Regional Office.

Mark A. McDowell, a Canadian diplomat who covered Burma while stationed in 
Bangkok for the last four years will talk about the situation in Burma. 
Mark traveled to Burma every month while stationed in Thailand (which 
hosts a large part of the exiled opposition) and is very knowledgeable 
about the local situation in Burma.

Mark is currently on leave from his position to study at the Kennedy School.

We apologize for the late notice as well as the close spacing of the 
events.

Elan
----
There is nothing men more readily give themselves to than pushing their 
own beliefs.  When ordinary means fail, they add commandment, violence, 
fire and sword.
      --Michel Eyquem de Montaigne