House votes to give imprisoned Burmese activist highest U.S. honor

Exciting news via email from U.S. Campaign for Burma:

Victory! House Votes to Award Congressional Gold Medal to Aung San Suu Kyi

Dear friends,

You did it! After thousands of phone calls, emails, and faxes from you, the US House of Representatives tonight adopted a bill by a vote of 400 – 0 to grant the Congressional Gold medal to Burma's imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi.

The House of Representatives. voted overwhelmingly to grant the award. We also owe many thanks to members of Congress Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Don Manzullo (R-IL) for leading the effort.

We are not done yet — the Senate must still pass a similar measure, but this is the first step.

As we mentioned in our previous email, the Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor that can be awarded by the US government. Previous recipients include luminaries in government, the arts, and society such as Mother Theresa, Winston Churchhill, Nelson Mandela, his Holiness the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King Jr, Robert Frost, and Elie Wiesel.

This award will generate major international attention for Aung San Suu Kyi, and further increase global resolve for her immediate and unconditional release.

Wherever you are, please take a minute to pat yourself on the back and (if you are so inclined) say a prayer for the people of Burma.

Thank you again for standing up for the people of Burma, just as they have stood up for themselves.

Sincerely,

Aung Din, Jeremy Woodrum, Jennifer Quigley, Thelma Young

See here for more info, and write your Senators to support this.