If you're like most people- you probably do not know much about this brutal regime. This country, formerly named Burma, is one of the most closed societies in the world. Like North Korea, not much information gets in, and not much information gets out. The military junta in control of the country likes it that way.
That is why the protests this week are so significant even if the marchers went only 30 meters before being beatdown by the authorities. Not only are protests inside this regime very rare and small, but there is usually not much reported on them.
This week's protests were different.
A man is detained by men in civilian cloths during a protest in Yangon on August 28, 2007. Defiant protests in military-ruled Myanmar against soaring fuel prices spread to the oil-producing northwest on Tuesday, where 300 people, including Buddhist monks, staged a protest march in Sittwe, a local source said. In Yangon, around 30 people staged a march through the north of the city, before stopped by men in civilian clothes, witnesses said. Five people were taken away. Picture taken on August 28, 2007. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. MANDATORY CREDIT. (REUTERS/Democratic Voice of Burma)
Well known democracy activist Su Su Nway was taken to the hospital in Myanmar today after a protest of around 200 democracy activists was violently broken up by undercover junta officials.
Activist Su Su Nway seen here was beaten by authorities and later taken to the hospital for treatment. (DVB)
It wasn't long into the protest before the junta cracked down on Su Su Nway and the other brave protesters. (DVB)
The Democratic Voice of Burma reported:
Eyewitnesses said Su Su Nway was seen arguing with special police and government supporters as they arrested more than 10 other activists for taking part in the protest against high fuel prices. She was seen collapsing shortly afterwards.
“Su Su Nway has now been submitted to a hospital on Mahabandoola Garden street . . . One of the people who was with her at the protest took her in a car,” an eyewitnesses said.
It is unclear why the special police chose not to arrest Su Su Nway along with the other activists but bystanders said they saw the police brutally beating the arrested protestors as they were driven away in a truck.
Knowing first hand the the brutality of the military junta, these brave protesters held a rally anyway on August 22 against the high gas prices. (DVB)
MORE... Good for Jim Carrey who shined some light on the Myanmar crisis today. Carrey calls for people to support the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. He also decries Burma's military regime for recruiting more child soldiers than any other country in the world:
Hat Tip HotAir
See also:
US Campaign for Burma
Human Rights Action Center
Democratic Voice of Burma
UPDATE: President Bush condemned the arrests this week in Burma.
While I commend the protesters for their courage and their desire to peacefully demonstrate, I wonder if certain regimes just are not "protestable" (sorry I know that is not even near being a word). I am not usually in favor of riots and vandalism - especially to solve political problems but taking one's nation apart so that those in control of it can not use it against you might be a more productive option.
ReplyDeleteBack when Myanmar was called Burma, I would hear my dad's friends tell stories about how life was. It didn't dawn on me then that the stories were atypical from most. One of them was recalling how they had to cross the Thai-Burmese border to bring food to his family on the Burmese side. He said that you have to take off your shoes before you head across the border. The rationale was that if a Burmese soldier sees you with shoes, he will assume that you are a smuggler because only people who needs to travel long distances are smugglers. The stories from any Karen tribesmen will also include how they have to run from Burmese soldiers, they are not consider Burmese, and will be killed on sight if lucky. Otherwise the inhumane treatment dished out by the Burmese soldiers were/are the norm.
ReplyDeleteThe Burmese/Myanmar government are very superstitious, a few years back they decided to move their capitol from Yangon (Rangoon) on the advice of a palm reader/witch doctor type.
On a side note, a Thai speaking friend told me that the original name for Rangoon (well, they revert back to Yangon, the original one) sounds like the Thai words for "roasting shrimp".