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JEDI KNIGHTS AND CHEWBACCA IN UN TOLERANCE PROTEST

 

Robed Jedi lovers deliver letter to UN authority calling for credit for UK’s fourth largest religion

 

When: 08:30, Thursday 16 November 2006

 

Report to: Outside the United Nations Association, 3 Whitehall Court, London, SW1A 2EL

 

Jedi Knight couple Umada, 27, and Yunyun, 24 - also known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law - deliver a protest letter to the United Nations Association on Thursday, the 10^th anniversary of the International Day of Tolerance. In an unprecedented move, they call for the UN to change the 16^th November to the Interstellar Day of Tolerance, to acknowledge the 390,000 Jedi Knights in the UK (the fourth largest religion according to the 2001 census) and millions elsewhere, and truly reflect the diversity of beliefs on Earth. The full text of the letter is below.

 

Photo / filming opportunities:

 

·         Jedi Knights in monastic hooded robes, armed with light sabres, Chewbacca holding a placard that says ‘TOLERANCE FOR JEDIS,’ and a group of Jedi supporters, walking down Whitehall and delivering a letter to a representative of the United Nations Association

 

Interview opportunities:

 

·         Umada and Yunyun speaking about the love that drove them to this protest, how they feel about wearing their robes as an expression of their religion, and the need for tolerance in society

 

·         Chewbacca (with Umada as interpreter) speaking about his support for this campaign

 

All media enquiries:

 

Simon Cohen 

global tolerance

t: 0845 054 0064

m: 0774 574 0013

e: simon@globaltolerance.com

 

Notes to editors:

 

·         390,000 people stated their religion was Jedi Knight in the 2001 UK census. There are also 143,000 Jedi knights in Australia (70,000), New Zealand (53,000), and Canada (20,000); background information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon#England_and_Wales

 

·         The United Nations Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UNA-UK) is the UK's leading independent authority on the UN and a UK-wide grassroots membership organisation. Although the UNA is independent of the United Nations, Yunyun and Umada hope the organisation will take on the case with the global peace-keeping body

 

·         Full text of letter:

United Nations Association of GB & Northern Ireland

3 Whitehall Court

London

SW1A 2EL

16 November 2006

 

To whom it may concern,

 

For the last ten years the United Nations has marked today as the International Day of Tolerance.

 

While we support this important work, we feel the UN needs to move with the times.

 

In the 2001 UK census, 390,000 people identified themselves as Jedi Knights, making us the fourth largest religion in the country. We have a proud heritage dating back 195,000 years to our first Jedi, the blue haired, blue eyed Kaja Sinis, who was born on Coruscant.

 

Like the United Nations, the Jedi Knights are peacekeepers, and we feel we have the basic right to express our religion through wearing our robes, and to be recognised by the national and international community.

 

We therefore call upon you to change the 16^th November to the United Nations Interstellar Day of Tolerance, to reflect the religious make-up of our twenty-first century civilization.

 

Tolerance is about respecting difference where ever it lies, including other galaxies. Please don’t exclude us from your important work.

 

May the Force be with you.

 

Yunyun and Umada, Jedi Knights

 

All media enquiries:

 

Simon Cohen                                                                                                                                   

global tolerance

t: 0845 054 0064

m: 0774 574 0013

e: simon@globaltolerance.com