The largest protest in nearly 20 years was held today against the junta in contol of Burma!
Over 20,000 marched in the rain today against the military rule.
The BBC has video (HERE) from the extraordinary protests.
Buddhist nuns march at Shwedagon Pagoda during a protest against the military government in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. About 20,000 Buddhist monks and citizens demonstrated against Myanmar's military junta in the country's largest city Sunday, with many shouting support for detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, witnesses said. (AP Photo)
20,000 protested against the brutal military junta today in Rangoon, Burma.
The AP reported:
YANGON, Myanmar - Riot police and barbed wire barricades blocked hundreds of monks and anti-government demonstrators from approaching the home of the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday, in a new show of force against a rising protest movement.The people of Rangoon held hands to form a barrier between them and the junta police.
Led by Buddhist monks and joined by nuns, some 20,000 people protested against the junta on Sunday and shouted their support for Suu Kyi, who made her first public appearance in four years on Saturday when a crowd of monks and sympathizers was permitted to pass her house.
On Sunday, a small crowd of about 400 — about half of them monks — split off from the main demonstration and tried to approach Suu Kyi's home again but abandoned the attempt after their path was blocked by riot police and barbed wire barricades.
The monks carried carried a large yellow banner that read: "Love and kindness must win over everything."
The demonstration was the largest since 1988, the year Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Gen. Aung San, took up leadership of a pro-democracy movement. Then, the military fired on peaceful crowds, killing thousands and terrorizing the country.
Buddhist monks, accompanied by civilians, march on a street in a protest against the military government in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. About 20,000 Buddhist monks and citizens demonstrated against Myanmar's military junta in the country's largest city Sunday, with many shouting support for detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, witnesses said. (AP Photo/The Mandalay Gazette)
Yesterday, the Buddhist monks marched all the way to the home of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time in four years that she had been seen:
Aung San Suu Kyi (in the center of the yellow gate) greets the Buddhist monks in tears in front of her home on September 22, 2007. (Photo at Democratic Voice of Burma)
Buddhist monks march at Shwedagon Pagoda during a protest against the military government in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. About 20,000 Buddhist monks and citizens demonstrated against Myanmar's military junta in the country's largest city Sunday, with many shouting support for detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, witnesses said. (AP Photo)
Previously:
In Rare Protest- Myanmar Democracy Activists Get Beatdown
1,000 Burmese Monks Protest Junta Abuse-- Get Beatdown!
Burma's Monks March On-- Meet With Aung San Suu Kyi -Update: With Photo
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ReplyDeleteThe monks carried carried a large yellow banner that read: "Love and kindness must win over everything."
well God bless them, it's only taken
2 decades to build momentum.. gah!!
apologies for being sarcastic, but at the pace they're going, it just might take another 2 decades of "love & kindeness" to get them to the next plateau.. but i don't deny miracle's can & do happen..
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The thing about momentum is, it doesn't build steadily.
ReplyDeleteIn a situation where the junta is willing to gun down peaceful protesters, the people have to be very careful.
If 1,000 people had marched, and no one else had followed them, they government might have simply shot the marchers.
But where the whole country gets up and marches, your chance of being shot goes down dramatically.
The vast majority of Burmese probably want democracy very much, but not enough to risk a 10% chance of being shot. Naturally, they will not march until they think it is safe enough to do so.
That's why revolutions tend to happen all of a sudden, and take everyone by surprise.
The Burmese government obviously goofed in two ways:
1 - not shooting the protesters a couple of days ago, when a show of force might have saved them
2 - not undermining religious authority for the past few decades. The Soviets knew the Church was a major threat to them because of the moral authority it carried. So they mocked it. The Soviets literally put on plays with the sole aim of mocking Christianity and Judaism and otherwise made them out as fools.
The Burmese government should have accused a bunch of priests of molesting children, and then arrested them. Throw in some shocking details about how nuns helped the priests procure and abuse children. Nobody is going to march on behalf of a child molester. Few people will march on behalf of an accused child molester, even if they think he's innocent. If the Burmese government had done more to discredit and discourage religion in their country, they might have survived a bit longer.
Accusing individual priests of being criminals, and religious organizations as having criminal mafias inside of them, goes a long way to undermining religion.
It's hard to maintain a dictatorship when your subjects believe a religion that isn't Islam!
Leave Burma alone.
ReplyDeleteThis is all about an internal power struggle, and the current Burmese leadership is no worse than any of the other leaders of neighboring countries in SE Asia.
The entire region is a motley collection of totalitarians.
The international self-righteous crowd wants to make Burma the whipping boy so they can SCUBA dive in Thailand, take eco-tours in Cambodia, participate in pity patrols in Viet Nam and shop in Singapore.
It's a bottomless pit of hypocrisy. Burma is no worse than any of the others.
If you want to get a great deal for your tourist dollar, visit Burma and screw the people who rant about the leaders in Burma.
bg & daryl-
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, your comments show very little understanding of what's occurring in Burma, or how profoundly different the social structure is there vs in the west.
The first thing that needs to be understood is that Burma is an exceptionally religious country. It really is hard to overemphasize this point, and even the most casual of visitors cannot fail to grasp how profoundly integral Buddhism is to almost all aspects of Burmese life. This simple cultural fact includes- and has always included -the members of the military junta.
So what does this mean? A few things- first, it means that it would be very problematic to forcefully end the protests of monks. Protesting lay people would undoubtedly be executed without a minute's though, but monks are perceived to be a breed apart and are integral to the religious rites any individual will need to participate in in order to be reborn in a good position in their next life. Yes, reincarnation is taken very seriously by one and all, and there are few things that will jeopardize the quality of future lives more than executing monks. Doesn't mean it's impossible for violence against monks to eventually come to pass (the ruthlessness of the junta is not to be underestimated) but it's clear that the military (like all Burmese) has a deep fear of treating monks with anything other than respect.
Which leads to the second point- the rather fascinating and overt methods the monks are using to show disrespect to the junta in the course of these protests. The 'Love and kindness must win over everything' banner is, um, nice or something, but the monks true power is shown through their policy of refusing alms from the military personnel.
A quick explanation of this- monks will only eat food that has been given to them (placed in their 'alms bowls'), and the act of giving them food is called 'giving alms'. This is a mutually beneficial act- the monks receive sustenance and the provider receives what amounts to religious credit for the good deed. Giving to monks is seen as 'making merit'. The accumulation of 'merit' is a primary means of establishing a good position in the next life.
During these protests, when anyone associated with the military approaches the monks to give alms, the monks have been turning their bowls over and thereby denying the prospective provider of 'merit making'. This is tantamount to denying the individuals that make up the military of their ability to achieve a positive outcome in their next life.
Given the above, allow me to draw a few conclusions. First, do not underestimate the significance of what's going on right now. It is courageous and much bolder than it might first appear, and one should have no doubt that the consequences of it are felt deeply by the military government.
Second, it is probably unwise to assume that this particular totalitarian regime could ever be inclined to belittle and oppress the Buddhists as means of maintaining control- Buddhism is as important to the military personnel as it is to the rest of the country (which is to say extremely important!).
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ReplyDeleteAndrew @ 4:08 PM
with all due respect right back at ya.. ;)
i understand all too well.. i said i was being sarcastic.. i'm sick of hearing how love & kindenss supposedly conquers the evil in the world, it does not.. it just gets lucky, takes a break & recoups, or a miracle happens once in awhile..
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paul a'barge-
ReplyDeleteYou could not be more wrong. Let's compare Thailand to Burma:
Thais genuinely love their country with a passion, and can rarely imagine living anywhere else (though they're free to leave as they please). The Burmese, on the other hand, despise their country and many would gladly leave if only they were allowed (and many leave anyhow- for Thailand!). Bangkok is city with wide swaths of borderline-obscene wealth and conspicuous prosperity, while Rangoon's most opulent feature is the single solitary escalator installed in one of it's shopping centers, which broke down over 10 years ago. I'm not kidding. Bangkok- Skytrain or subway? Rangoon- what's public transportation?! Etc., etc., ad nauseum.
When it comes to your cynicism regarding the UN, NGOs, and the like, I can only sympathize- most are absurd, corrupt, and frankly worthless. Ultimately it is probably best that Burma figures things out for itself. But to imply that the Burmese are not in a uniquely desparate situation among SEA nations is to ignore reality. Take a trip my friend, and see for yourself. I assure you that your prejudices will not remain intact.
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ReplyDeleteps: all the more power to them for any progress they make towards peace & justice.. for everyone's sake, i just hope it's not as fragile & fleeting as it's proved to be time & again.. *sigh*
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Andrew: can rarely imagine living anywhere else (though they're free to leave as they please).
ReplyDeleteRight here, right now I'm calling Bullshit on you.
Not one of the indigenous tribal people living in Thailand can leave, because they don't qualify as Thai citizens, can not get a Thai passport and are terrified that once out, the Thai authorities will not let them back in.
Andrew: Take a trip my friend, and see for yourself
Right back at you again. Where do you think I learned the above? From a trip to Thailand and Burma. Would you like to see a scan of the visa stamp in my passport, pal?
Remind yourself the next time you decide to go trolling around the internet, passing yourself off in someone else's comments as an expert on worldly things. Not everyone else is likely to be as ignorant as you are.
The Thai people may indeed be economically better off than the Burmese, but the government of Thailand and all the other SE Asian rim countries are comparable in corruption and human rights to Burma.
I've been there. I don't know where you've been, but a Google page doesn't count.
Correction: Not one of the indigenous tribal people living in Thailand can leave... should read Not one of the indigenous tribal people living in Thailand can leave legally...
ReplyDeleteFree Burma!
ReplyDeleteInternational Bloggers' Day for Burma on the 4th of October
International bloggers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Bloggers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“.
www.free-burma.org