Captive for Freedom

Nov 19, 2010

arrest

There were no police cars or handcuffs when Concordia's interim president, Dr. Paul Dovre, was taken into voluntary captivity Nov. 15. Dovre agreed to be put under house arrest as an act of solidarity with people all over the world who are without many of the freedoms Americans take for granted.

“Free Dovre. Free Dovre,” students chanted from outside the president’s residence along Eighth Street in Moorhead.

They cheered and clapped when their leader was freed moments later.

Even though the event was only a simulation, Dovre explained that the issue it addressed was very serious.

“What’s at stake is thousands of people who don’t know if they’ll ever experience freedom,” Dovre said after his release. “We’re called to be in community and partner with people all over the world who seek freedom.”

The event was coordinated by the Student Peace Alliance. Marty Fankhanel ’11, Detroit Lakes, Minn., a member of the organization, spoke at Dovre’s release. He hopes that students will come away with a greater awareness of the oppression that people in Myanmar (Burma) experience under the current militaristic rule, even after their elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was recently released from house arrest after more than seven years.

“Aung San Suu Kyi was released but the people aren’t released from their oppressive government,” Fankhanel said.


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