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Advisory Board of Canadian Friends of Burma – Biography of Council Members

Murray Thomson

Lawyer, Ottawa

Since early 1990s he supported for Democracy in Burma, and helped establish the Canadian Friends of Burma in 1991. He is also a co-founder of more than seven national and international peace and social justice organizations, including: Project Ploughshares, The Group of 78, Peace Brigades International, and Canadian Seniors for Social Responsibility. Murray has spent more than four decades working in the field of peace, social justice and international development.

His personal convictions, combined with his enjoyment of the work and his perception of the urgent needs throughout the world, has led him to be awarded the Pearson Peace Medal, in recognition of his lifetime spent working to achieve justice and peace for all people.

Harn Yawnghwe

Director, Euro-Burma Office, Brussels

Harn Yawnghwe is the son of Sao Shwe Thaike, the last hereditary ruler of the Shan principality of Yawnghwe and the first president of the Republic of the Union of Burma.

Harn received his early education in Burma; he studied in Thailand and then Canada, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and an MBA from McGill University.

Through the years, Harn has faithfully served Burma’s pro-democracy movement in a variety of capacities. He was editor of Burma Alert, a monthly news digest; advisor to Dr. Sein Win, Prime Minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB); and managing director of the Democratic Voice of Burma, which makes daily news broadcasts to Burma in Burmese and seven ethnic languages.

In February 1997, he became director of the Euro-Burma Office in Brussels, Belgium. This project was created to help the Burmese democracy movement prepare for a transition to a democratic government.

Penny Sanger

Writer and activist, Ottawa

She had the exceptional luck, as a friend and co-worker of Murray Thomson, to visit and travel in Burma with Harn Yawnghwe, Paul Copeland and others in Burma in 1992. On her return she worked to make the plight of many Burmese known across Canada, and to influence the department of Foreign Affairs to take action on their behalf. 

As coordinator of Canadian Friends of Burma she traveled, wrote and spoke about the Burmese then suffering under military oppression, urged an end to trade relations between Burma and Canada, and argued for sanctions.  Her dream is one day to return to a democratic Burma – to travel its rivers, visit its temples and meet again, in their villages and homes, the brave and gentle people of Burma.

During her tenure, she received Thakore Foundation Award for Burmese Democracy.

Bush Gulati

Professor Emeritus, George Brown College, Toronto

Professor Gulati is active with the pro-democracy movement of Burmese exiles since 1986, serving in various individual and organizational capacities. He was the advisor to the late Prime Minister U Nu in his pro-democracy campaigns; Director, Foundation for Democracy in Burma; Chair, Committee for Restoration of Democracy in Burma (Canada Chapter).  

Professor Gulati was an instructor, and then Professor of English,  George Brown College, Toronto (1968-2002); Educated at  universities in Mandalay and Delhi  and  at  York  University in Toronto. Today, Professor Gulati is a member of the Canadian Representative of National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (in exile) at its inception, and Founder/Convener, Toronto Burma Roundtable.  

Elizabeth Shepherd

Actress, Toronto

She has strong attachment to Burma and Burmese people, as she spent many years in Burma with her parents when she was a child.  She is a founder of Toronto Burma Roundtable and organized a number of events for Burma in Toronto.

Ms. Shepherd has performed in many of the country’s major venues and has had an extensive career in television and cinema. She has played leads at the Stratford and Shaw Festival as well as in The Cherry Orchard, Breaking the Code, Tartuffe, A Delicate Balance, and a solo performance in Immediate Family in Toronto.. She has performed often in Montreal at Centaur Theatre (Old Times, Kennedy’s Children, The Seagull, A Streetcar Named Desire) and Saidye Bronfman Centre (Passion Play, My Mother’s Courage).

At the NAC in Ottawa she appeared in The Coronation Voyage. Recent roles include Miss Havisham (Derby Playhouse, UK), Flora Humble in Humble Boy (Calgary & Edmonton), Fonsia Dorsey in The Gin Game (Louisville, Kentucky), Gloria Temple in December Fools (off-Broadway,NY), currently Honor in Honour (Victoria, Winnipeg). Latest TV: Margaret Thatcher in Shades of Black. Movies include: The Tomb of Ligeia, Damien:Omen 2, Criminal Law, Desire.