The locals are surrounding the protesting Buddhist monks locking arms to protect them from being attacked by the junta thugs.
People march in protest in Yangon. More than 100,000 people flooded the streets of Myanmar's biggest city, joining Buddhist monks in the strongest show of dissent against the ruling generals in nearly two decades.(AFP)
Buddhists monks march down the street in Yangon, 23 September 2007. Tens of thousands of people flooded onto the streets of Myanmar's main city to join protesting monks in the strongest show of dissent against the ruling generals in nearly two decades.(AFP)
A massive protest was held today in Rangoon against the ruling junta. Tens of thousands joined in with thousands of monks who have been leading the growing protests against the brutal military rulers in control of the nation.
The BBC reported:
Tens of thousands of people have marched through Burma's main city of Rangoon in the biggest of a mounting wave of anti-government protests.
Eyewitnesses said the number of monks and civilians demonstrating was more than 30,000, with some activists saying 100,000 were involved.
Some monks carried placards calling for better living conditions and national reconciliation, witnesses said.
The military government has so far showed restraint against the protests.
Monks are highly revered in Burma and any action against them would spark an outcry.
But there are fears of a repeat of 1988, when the last democracy uprising was crushed by the military and some 3,000 people were killed, correspondents say.
Five columns of monks, one reportedly stretching for more than 1km (0.6 miles), entered the city centre to cheers and applause from thousands of bystanders.
"People locked arms around the monks. They were clapping and cheering," one witness told Reuters news agency.
Many of the civilians who joined in pinned small pieces of the monks' robes onto their clothing; some were in tears.
Graphic fact file on the anti-government protests in Myanmar spearheaded by Buddhist monks. Tens of thousands of people flooded onto the streets of Myanmar's main city to join protesting monks in the strongest show of dissent against the ruling generals in nearly two decades.(AFP/Martin Megino)
Democratic Voice of Burma continues to have the best coverage of the protests:
The thousands of monks were joined by civilians today in the Rangoon rain. (DVB)
Civilians cheered on the monks along the protest route. (DVB)
Myanmar Buddhist monks walk on the street during a protest against the military government in Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. As many as 100,000 anti-government protesters led by a phalanx of Buddhist monks marched Monday through Yangon, the largest crowd to demonstrate in Myanmar's biggest city since a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the military. (AP Photo)
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell put out a statement today in support of the democracy activists in Burma.
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
20,000 Protest Military Junta in Burma!
While the monks will remain peaceful, the other protestors will likely feel no such obligation. Bearing that in mind, it's pretty amazing that the military government has been so restrained, so willing to appear weak in the face of such a direct challenge.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably worth noting that China is heavily involved and invested in Burma. Perhaps a little diplomatic pressure on Beijing might serve to aid the cause?
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ReplyDeletethat's great!! i hope they keep going until they get results.. which i'm afraid may take forever.. unfortunately, it seems to me that the government is waiting them out with the full knoweldge that there is no way the people can sustain a peaceful protest for as long as they can.. *sigh*
God bless them.. i pray for their safety & the change they so desperately need & seek..
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This is the first article I've read so far on the situation in Burma that includes some expert analysis of events and gives at least a bit of background as well:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/world/asia/25myanmar.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
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ReplyDeleteMyanmar
(not the best source, but it will do for a background outline)
Background Note: Burma
Burma
Burma Threatens Action Against Protesting Monks
excerpt:
[Burma's religious affairs minister has threatened to take action against Buddhist monks, who led as many as 100,000 people Monday in the biggest protest march against the government in nearly 20 years.
Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung's warning, broadcast on state television, is the first official reaction to escalating protests led by the monks.]
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As Andrew says, Chinese businessmen are heavily invested in Burma. In typical crony capitalism fashion, they are given contracts by the government for all major and even not so major businesses, effectively cutting off the native population from any upward mobility while cementing a symbiotic relationship between business and government that enriches the former while entrenching the latter.
ReplyDeleteWhile China may seek to stabilize the situation, or in the least put pressure on the junta to protect its nationals, what is not discussed in the articles and what I would like to know is to what degree these pro-democracy protests have also taken on an anti-Chinese edge. Given that a lot of this protest focuses on economic factors such as huge inflation and degrading living conditions, it would not be so strange that this would happen. It has been a trend over the last decade... think the anti-Russian sentiment of the colored revolutions... do not be surprised if we see anti-Chinese, pro-democracy activity rising in southeast Asia.