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Home > Projects & Research > Grave Desecrations : March 2nd Letter Writing Event

Grave Desecrations

March 2, 2006 Letter Writing Event

On March 2, 2006 the Human Rights Program along with Minnesota State Senator Mee Moua’s office sponsored a Letter Writing and Town Hall meeting at the Lao Family Center in Saint Paul, MN. Students and community volunteers assisted victims in writing individual communications to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Religious Intolerance and Contemporary Forms of Racism. Over 400 people showed up for the letter writing session and the Human Rights Program students of the University of Minnesota gathered over 170 statements of information such as photographs, certificates and receipts of payment for grave sites from the victim families by conducting personal interviews.

A week later, March 9, 2006, the Human Rights Program transmitted the collected statements as well as a longer collective communication to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs. Copies were also sent to United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, along with a letter expressing the concern of the Human Rights Program with the inadequacy of the U.S. Government's response to this case.

The forms below were used at the March 2, 2006 letter-writing event to collect personal statements to send to the United Nations. If you would like to submit your statement to the United Nations feel free to download and fill out these forms.

Cover Page (PDF)

Question Page (PDF)

Project Template (PDF) This document outlines step by step the process used to advocate on behalf of the Hmong community. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Please send your forms to us at:

Human Rights Program
Institute for Global Studies
University of Minnesota
214 Social Sciences Building
267 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Or
hrp@umn.edu

Photos

Students taking statements from victim families of grave desecration

Students taking statements from victim families of grave desecration at Wat Tham Krabok at the March 2, 2006 Letter Writing and Town Hall Meeting Event.

Photos collected by students from the Letter Writing Event

Some of the photos collected by the students of the Human Rights Program from the Letter Writing Event.

News Articles

Hmong Protest Grave Desecration (PDF) MN Public Radio 03/03/06

Hundreds Gather To Protest Grave Digging (PDF) Hmong Today 03/07/06

Urgent Town Hall Meeting Regarding Hmong Grave at Wat Thamkrabok (PDF) Hmong Times 03/16/06