Charm Tong and John Boorman

2 November 2005

The film director John Boorman, attended the opening session of the 3rd Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders from 13 – 15 October, in order to meet Burmese human rights defender Charm Tong.

The 73-year-old director of “Deliverance” and “The General” is the Honorary President of Burma Action Ireland, an association that campaigns to raise awareness of the repressive nature of the ruling military regime in Burma.

Charm Tong, is a founding member if the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) which works along the Burmese/Thai border. It was formed in 1999 by a group of young women in response to human rights atrocities, such as sexual violence and forced relocation, committed by the Burmese military regime. Their groundbreaking report “License to rape” brought the systematic sexual abuse of Shan women (an ethnic minority in Burma from the Shan province near the Thai border)) to the attention of the world.