Radios for Burma: now more vital than ever

Burma’s first general election in two decades was held on Sunday under conditions where freedom of expression and political participation are still heavily restricted. Over 2,200 political prisoners remain behind bars. The media is almost totally censored.

Against this backdrop, our partner organisations have been busy delivering thousands of radios funded by Amnesty supporters throughout rural Burma. The radios will help break through Burma’s strict media censorship, empowering citizens at this crucial time with information about their rights and what is really happening in their country.

We’ve just returned from meeting with our partners in the region and the early feedback has been very positive. We’ve already seen examples of the radios making a difference to the lives of people in Burma.

Because the campaign has been such a success so far, we have decided to fund even more radios and distribute them via our partners so we can reach even more communities throughout Burma.

Access to information from independent media is now more vital than ever to people in Burma. And radios are the key to making that happen. Each one costs £12.50 and that includes batteries and getting the radios to where they’re needed most.

Thanks to your donations we closed this appeal in November 2010. You can still donate to Amnesty and support similar work around the world.

Thank you once again to everyone who has already donated to buy radios, walkie talkies and satellite phones. We will have more feedback soon from our recent trip about the impact they are having on communities across Burma.