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Photo special: Burmese Day in Oslo

June 16, 2012  

Celebrating the Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo locals and exiled Burmese joined each other for what was billed as a Folkefest (party for the people) in the square in front of Oslo’s City Hall on Saturday. It turned out to be a colorful gathering with many of the Burmese minority representatives wearing their traditional dress.

  1. Meeting the people: Aung San Suu Kyi attending a public street party with several thousand participants after finally being able to give her Nobel Lecture, 21 years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Seen on her right is Harald Bøckman, head of Norway\'s Burma Committee.
  2. Exiled Burmese, most staying in Norway as refugees, were out in force. These ladies are wearing the traditional dress of the Kachin ethnic group.
  3. Posters going up in a booth used by Burma\'s National League for Democracy, which is Aung San Suu Kyi\'s party.
  4. Happy ladies in party dresses, near a tent covered with pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi and her late father, Aung San, who negotiated Burma\'s independence from its British colonial masters.
  5. Happy party-goers having their picture taken on the square of Oslo\'s CIty Hall, site of the Nobel Peace Prize «Party for the people».
  6. Trade in commemorative key chains with the Nobel Peace Prize winner\'s portrait and other souvenirs was brisk.
  7. Another scene from the City hall square. The gentleman on the right is wearing a top hat with a portrait of «The Lady».
  8. Partygoers posing for photos in front of Oslo\'s Nobel Peace Center, with a poster of the Peace Prize winner.
  9. This group had come all the way from Froland in the district of Aust-Agder, home of about 50 Burmese of various ethnic nationalities. Burmese refugees are scattered in towns and villages around the country.
  10. A member of the Kachin ethnic group watching Aung San Suu Kyi\'s speech on a large display screen. Making lasting peace with Burma\'s restive minorities remains a huge challenge for the future leaders of the country.




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