Official Book launch: 2.30pm on March 19 in Room B, 1 Abbey Gardens, Westminster, London.

A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People, by Benedict Rogers, documents the catalogue of atrocities committed by Burma's ruling military regime, including systematic rape, the use of child soldiers, forced labour, human minesweepers, forced relocation, destruction of villages and crops, killings, brutal torture and detention of political prisoners.

It accuses the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) of acts of genocide, and urges citizens of democratic societies to use their freedom to speak up on behalf of the oppressed people of Burma.

The book will be launched on March 19 by Baroness Cox, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords and Honorary President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)-UK. Relatives of Aung Sang Suu Kyi and the daughter of Ba U Gyi, the founder of the Karen struggle for freedom, are expected to attend. James Mawdsley, imprisoned in Burma for distributing pro-democracy leaflets, has also been invited.

Baroness Cox, who wrote the foreword to the book, has made numerous visits to the Karen and Karenni ethnic nationalities on the Thai-Burmese border. She writes that the book: portrays human qualities of courage and dignity of people of diverse faiths and cultures whose lives shine as beacons of light in a very dark part of the world. It is their voices which speak through the pages of this book, yearning for their freedom. Are we going to listen and respond? Or are we going to let their pleas for justice fall on deaf ears again?

A Land Without Evil has been endorsed by a wide range of respected commentators. Former TIME Senior Correspondent David Aikman said that Benedict Rogers brings to life one of the most under-reported examples of ethnic repression in modern times. The book, said Aikman, should be read by every responsible citizen of those nations claiming to espouse the principles of global justice. Graham Earnshaw, former Reuters Editor for Asia, described the book as articulate and powerful relevant for anyone interested in facing the dirty truths that often lie beneath the superficiality of international journalism. This is reportage with a conscience and refreshing as such a mine of information.

Benedict Rogers describes the book as a call to action, and says that just as people took to the streets to protest at apartheid, people should campaign for freedom for Burma. What we cannot afford to do is be apathetic. Each one of us can do something, he writes. If people in the free world choose, practically and spiritually, to stand with the Karen, the rewards are great.

Christian leaders have also welcomed the book. The cruel military despotism over Burma's Karens has gone on much too long, said Bishop David Pytches. The West has become inured to it. Benedict Rogers' compassionate story impels readership and compels responses. This is a must read' book. World Relief's President Dr Clive Calver called the book compelling and mind-blowing and said that once read, this story will never be forgotten. Os Guinness, Senior Fellow at The Trinity Forum, said: For many of us in the Western world, evil is long ago and far away. Benedict Rogers' searing account of the atrocities in Burma lifts the lid off our ignorance and leaves us without excuse. How we respond will be the measure of our faith and humanity.

The book has also received acclaim from politicians. Lady Mountbatten of Burma once described the Karen people as Britain's forgotten allies'. More than anyone I know, Benedict Rogers has made it his business to ensure that the Karen are remembered, said Lord Alton of Liverpool. A Land Without Evil is a first-hand account of their suffering and bravery written by someone who has regularly put his own life on the line.

To request a review copy of the book, or an interview with the author, please contact Richard Chilvers on 0208 329 0045 or email richard.chilvers@csw.org.uk To attend the launch at the House of Lords please call Sarah Armitage at CSW on 0208 329 0013 or email Sarah.Armitage@csw.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Benedict Rogers is a journalist and human rights activist, currently working as CSW-UK's Advocacy Officer for South Asia. A contributor to publications such as The Asian Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Catholic Herald, The Tablet, Christianity Today, Sojourners and The Hong Kong Standard, he has travelled to both sides of the Thai-Burmese border six times, visiting refugees, resistance soldiers and internally displaced people.

The book, 256 pages in length, includes chapters on the history of the Karen people, parallels between ancient Karen legends and Old Testament stories, the Karen loyalty to the British in the Second World War, the Karen armed struggle, the refugees and internally displaced people, the pro-democracy uprising of 1988, the elections of 1990, and the Free Burma Rangers. Correspondence from British Government ministers in the 1980s, which has not been published until now, is included in the book. The correspondence, from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, details Britain's refusal to intervene to stop the persecution of the Karen, despite the Karens' loyalty to Britain during the Second World War. In one handwritten note in 1982, the Foreign Office said: You ask whether there is any way we can help the Karen in view of their past loyalty to the British. The answer is no, and, moreover, we would not wish to do so If we did it would have disastrous consequences for our interests in Burma as a whole and in any event we have shed our imperial role and are no longer the world's policeman.

A Land Without Evil can be ordered from CSW or Monarch Books at '7.99, or from bookshops (ISBN 1-85424-646-1).