On September 27, 2007 hundreds of Shan, Pa’O, Palaung, and Lahu villagers gathered in a internally displaced persons site in Shan State, Eastern Burma as an act of solidarity with those demonstrating in the larger cities of Burma. Villagers expressed their common desire for the restoration of a free and democratic Burma, in which people of every ethnicity are guaranteed fundamental rights. Much of Shan State continues to be a warzone, where the Burma Army regularly commits atrocities against the civilian population, and any act of overt civil disobediance would most like result in a swift and brutal punishment. The villagers who gathered today announced their unity of heart and purpose with those demonstrating in the larger cities against this oppression.

Ethnic peoples of Burma have been under direct attack by the dictators for years. They hope that the demonstrations in the cities of Burma will draw international attention and help for those under attack. They also hope that all the oppressed people of Burma will soon be free.