IU's Faculty Members Express to IU

[tmyint@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: IU's Faculty Members Express to IU Alumni 

Date: Tue, 23 Jan 96 17:33:19 EST
To: iuburma@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: forward of letter


 
To: Mr. Jerry Tardy
Indiana University Alumni
Suite 219
Fountain Square
Bloomington, IN 47405


Address  Department of Mathematics
Rawles Hall
Bloomington, IN 47405-5701

Dear Mr. Tardy,}

As a member of the IU faculty, I was appalled and embarrassed to hear
the alumni association is planning a tour to the dictatorship of Burma. I 
had not realized the IU Alumni included Marie Antoinette as a member.

As a university organization, the alumni association has a special
responsibility to support the values of free speech and inquiry. The
Burmese government suppresses speech and thought in both the university
and public arenas and restricts the flow of news into the country. The
Nobel Committee awarded its Peace Prize to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to aid the
fight against the Burmese dictatorship -- in contrast, your association's
actions lend both money and credibility to this repressive government. 

The well-documented record of human rights abuses in Burma should be enough to
deter the most cynical tourist agent from the country. Was there an 
alumni tour to Poland in 1940? I feel certain the German government 
would have assured fine accomodations and a fascinating 
tour of the countryside.

Come back to campus, retake your basic history and ethics courses, 
and please reconsider this macabre plan.

\{Sincerely,}
 {Signed}

 Laura Anderson