Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta
Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Buddhist monks, escorted on each side by hand-holding supporters, protesting Sunday in the wet streets of Yangon, Myanmar.
nytimes.com
images .................
Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta
Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Buddhist monks, escorted on each side by hand-holding supporters, protesting Sunday in the wet streets of Yangon, Myanmar.
nytimes.com
images .................
Cheers Mid for keeping us up to date, great coverage. Something huge must be going to happen soon I would think.
Monks ordered back to the temples
Today's Top Stories
Rangoon - Burma's military-controlled Buddhist clergy, the Sangha Nayaka Committee, on Monday instructed all temples in Rangoon to send visiting monks back to their townships in an effort to put an end to the anti-government marches in the capital.
In a new form of public protest, thousands of Buddhist monks have been staging peaceful marches in Rangoon daily since last Tuesday. Many of the participating monks are from temples outside of Rangoon, visiting the former capital for religious studies during Buddhist lent.
The saffron-robed rebellion hit its highest point of the current campaign on Sunday, when more than 10,000 laymen joined approximately 3,000 marching monks and 300 nuns.
Many shouted political slogans for the first time, calling on the ruling regime to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Saturday an estimated 700 monks visited the Rangoon compound of Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May 2003, prompting a rare public appearance by the Nobel peace laureate who is still seen as the heart and soul of Burma's pro-democracy movement.
More marches are planned on Monday, in open defiance of the Sangha Nayaka Committee, comprising so-called "government monks," sources said.
The organization behind the protesting monks has ordered monasteries in Rangoon to contribute monks to Monday's march.
A confrontation between the military and monks seems inevitable, western diplomats said.
"We expect some kind of a resolution in the next few days," said one western diplomat. "Either the protests go up or go down, but it can't go on like this."
The Burmese military, which has ruled the country since 1962, has killed protesting monks before, most recently in the 1988 anti-government demonstrations.
But this is the first time Burma's 400,000-strong Buddhist monkhood has taken a lead in the protest movement, pitting rifles against robes in a looming confrontation that could easily spark an uprising if mishandled.
The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has a long history of mismanagement. It was their decision on August 15 to more than double local fuel prices overnight, without a system of gradual hikes and no prior warnings to the public, that has led them to the current predicament.
Peaceful demonstrations against the fuel hikes started in Rangoon on August 19, but were quickly suppressed by authorities who arrested more than 100 protest leaders.
The protest movement was then picked up by the Burmese monkhood earlier this month, and has now spread nationwide.
The military junta has kept a tight lid on discontent for the past 19 years, cracking down on all shows of student-led protests and dissent from opposition politicians such as Suu Kyi's supporters.
The monks' movement has put Burma's regime in an awkward position. If the rulers do not crack down on the protests, the demonstrations are likely to spread, but if they attack the monks, they would enrage the people.
Buddhist monks have a long history of political activism in Burma, a predominantly Buddhist country.
The monkhood played a prominent role in Burma's struggle for independence from Great Britain, which came in 1948, and joined students in the anti-military demonstrations that rocked the country in 1988 and ended in bloodshed.
Like the recent protests, the 1988 mass demonstrations were sparked by rising discontent with the military's mismanagement of the economy and refusal to introduce some semblance of democracy.
In September 1988, the army cracked down on the pro-democracy movement, leaving an estimated 3,000 dead.
The generals at the time vowed to never allow a repeat of 1988, a vow they have carried out through the suppression of any show of unrest in the country.
Although the military allowed a general election in 1990, it ignored the outcome when 80 per cent of the votes went to the National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi's party. Its refusal to acknowledge the NLD electoral win has made the junta a pariah in the West. - (dpa)
bangkokpost.net
Ahh, China. Defenders of democracy.Originally Posted by Mid
Burmese protesters 'detained and beaten'
From correspondents in Bangkok
September 24, 2007 04:19pm
BURMA'S military rulers have detained 218 people over anti-junta protests that erupted five weeks ago, sometimes subjecting them to beatings during interrogations, a watchdog said today.
"Activists have not only been beaten while in detention, but have also been under extreme physical and mental torture," said Bo Kyi, head of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
Most of those arrested were members of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party or part of the 88 Generation Student movement that kicked off the protests on August 19, he said.
snip
news.com.au
Burma monks call on public to join dissent
Aung Hla Tun, Rangoon
September 24, 2007
Aung San Suu Kyi, behind a cordon, greets the monks.
Photo: Reuters
theage.com.au
Latest Images From Burma As Public Join Monks
Monday, 24 September 2007, 3:11 pm
Press Release: Terry Evans
Latest Images From Rangoon
Buddhist monks in Burma have called on members of the public to join with them in future public protests.
Supporters joined hands behind the monks and repeatedly shouted "Be free very soon!"
The Federation of All Burma Young Monks issued a statement announcing, "It is time for the Burmese people to work with monks and courageously demonstrate their genuine aspirations."
Buddhist religious flags were flown and alms bowls turned upside down, a symbol of the continuing alms' boycott against the junta's generals
A powerful pro-democracy organisation, known as '88 Generation Students, has aligned itself with the monks in the current struggle for freedom from the repressive regime.
The return of the "Fighting Peacock" flag to the streets of Burma is expected. The flag was the symbol of the students' struggle against the military during the August 1988 "People Power" uprising.
Detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appeared at her front gate yesterday as several hundred courageous monks marched through barricades .
An alliance between political activists and monks will encourage members of the public to take to the streets.
The Burmese people are desperate for change.
An escalation of the current protests now seems imminent.
Images and words courtesy of Terry Evans ENDS
scoop.co.nz
30,000 rally as Myanmar monks' protest gathers steam
23 hours ago
YANGON (AFP) — Thousands of Buddhist monks marched in Yangon on Monday, piling the pressure on Myanmar's ruling military junta after a weekend that saw the biggest show of dissent in nearly two decades.
At least 30,000 people led by about 15,000 monks clad in orange and rust-red robes marched from the holy Shwedagon Pagoda and past the offices of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
As the monks walked by chanting prayers for peace, NLD officials came to the sidewalk, clasped their hands and bowed in respect to the clergy, and then joined the marchers.
Many of the marchers fixed onto their shirts small strips of rust-red cloth, taken from the robes of the Buddhist monks.
Shwedagon Pagoda has been the focal point of protests by the clergy that began nearly a week ago, which have swelled to include thousands of civilians.
"We are marching for the people," one monk said to the crowd, and urged supporters to remain peaceful and avoid chanting political slogans as they snaked through the nation's commercial hub.
On Sunday, about 20,000 people, half of them monks, thronged the rainswept Yangon streets chanting prayers and shouting slogans, while other rallies took place across the country.
Some 150 nuns joined the rallies for the first time.
afp.google.com
I wish them the very best & pray for divine intervention in their righteous struggle against the present regime of evil controlling Burma.
Monks lead largest Burma protest
Monday, 24 September 2007,
The orange-clad monks are streaming through the streets
Thousands of monks and civilians are marching through Burma's former capital in what appears to be the biggest anti-government protest so far.
Eyewitnesses said the number of people demonstrating on Monday was as high as 30,000.
It follows Sunday's march in Rangoon by 20,000 monks and nuns, in what was the largest protest for almost 20 years.
Events are now moving unpredictably, analysts say. So far the ruling generals are showing unusual restraint.
Monks are revered in Burma and any action against them by the military government 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.
In pictures: Burma rallies
Profile: Shwedagon Pagoda
The British ambassador in Rangoon, Mark Canning, said Burma's leaders were now in uncharted territory.
"Firstly, the demonstrations could subside - I mean, that's looking less and less likely by the day," he told the BBC.
"Secondly, that we could see some sort of counter-reaction, which I've said would be a disaster, although in terms of probability it, I'm afraid, ranks quite high."
Detained leader
Two well-known actors, comedian Zargana and film star Kyaw Thu, went to Rangoon's golden Shwedagon Pagoda early on Monday to offer food and water to the monks before they started their march.
Some of the monks were carrying placards calling for better living conditions and national reconciliation, witnesses said.
Ms Suu Kyi can be seen behind the police greeting protesters
Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi
On Saturday, monks marched to greet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, but access to her home was barred on Sunday, and again on Monday.
The organisation that has emerged to lead the protests, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks, urged people in the country to join Monday's protests.
In a statement on Friday, the monks' group vowed to continue the marches until they had "wiped the military dictatorship from the land".
This will be the eighth straight day of action by the monks. The protests were triggered by the government's decision to double the price of fuel last month, hitting people hard in the impoverished nation.
Pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstrations against the move, but dozens of them have been arrested.
Monks then joined the movement after troops used force to break up a peaceful rally in the town of Pakokku on 5 September. Speaking on the sidelines of a UN meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said America was watching the situation "very carefully" and denounced Burma's "brutal regime". "The Burmese people deserve better. They deserve the right to be able to live in freedom, just as everyone does," she said.
bbc.co.uk
Myanmar monks' protest goes to brink of revolution
Last updated at 10:25am on 24th September 2007
Comments
Thousands of monks gathered at Myanmar's Shwedagon pagoda again today as the remarkable show of defiance against the country's military regime gathered pace.
More anti-government protests were expected after a weekend which saw the country's largest demonstrations in almost 20 years.
Yesterday monks and nuns led up to 20,000 people through the streets of the main city, Rangoon, calling for an end to dictatorship in the largest protest to rock the country in almost 20 years. Scroll down for more ...
This weekend saw Burma's largest demonstrations in nearly 20 years - and the monks are leading the way
They walked to the home of imprisoned democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, where they were stopped by riot police. Suu Kyi could be seen behind the gates of her compound.
The monks urged more people to join their protests, which were originally triggered by the government's decision last month to double the price of fuel, hitting people hard in the impoverished nation.
Events are moving fast and unpredictably as people wait anxiously to see how the military government reacts. Scroll down for more ...
The monks led up to 20,000 people through the streets of the main city Rangoon
Diplomats and analysts said that Myanmar's military rulers were showing unexpected restraint in cracking down on the protests because of pressure from the country's key trading partner, China.
The British ambassador in Rangoon, Mark Canning, said Burma's leaders were in uncharted territory. "Firstly, the demonstrations could subside though that's looking less and less likely by the day," he said.
"Secondly, we could see some sort of counter-reaction which would be a disaster, although in terms of probability it, I'm afraid, ranks quite high." Scroll down for more ...
The demonstrations have been going on for seven days
The protests have continued for seven days and are increasing in size. There are fears of a repeat of 1988, when the last democracy uprising was crushed by the military and about 3,000 people were killed.
Pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstrations against the move but dozens of them were arrested.
Monks then joined the movement after troops used force to break up a peaceful rally in the town of Pakokku on 5 September.
An organisation called the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks has emerged to lead the protests. They have issued a statement vowing to continue until they have "wiped the military dictatorship from the land". Scroll down for more ...
Yesterday Buddhist nuns joined the protests for the first time
On Saturday, monks marched to greet Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize winner who has been under house arrest since 2003. The road leading to her house is blocked but police allowed about 2,000 monks up to her gate.
Yesterday Buddhist nuns joined the marchers for the first time.
At a UN meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said America was watching the situation "very carefully" and denounced Myanmar's "brutal regime".
She said: "The Burmese people deserve better. They deserve the right to be able to live in freedom, just as everyone does."
dailymail.co.uk
FACTBOX-Myanmar's military strongman, Than Shwe
24 Sep 2007
Source: Reuters
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Myanmar's generals are expected to hold crisis meetings this week in their new jungle capital to decide how to react to the biggest anti-government protests since they ruthlessly crushed a mass uprising in 1988.
Following are five facts about the military junta's most powerful figure, Than Shwe:
-- Born in central Myanmar in February 1933 in what was then called Burma and under British imperial control. Than Shwe worked as a postal clerk before joining the army in 1953.
He rose through the ranks to become military supremo with the official title "Senior General" in 1992 after his predecessor, General Saw Maung, retired on health grounds.
-- On taking power, he said the junta that seized power in a 1962 coup would "not hold onto power for long", sparking hopes of serious efforts to reinstall civilian government and democracy.
Since that comment, opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of her time either in prison or under house arrest.
-- As head of one of the world's most secretive regimes, Than Shwe is rarely seen in public or out of uniform. One notable exception is his appearance at a secretly leaked video of his daughter's wedding in 2006.
In a 10-minute clip posted on the Internet, bespectacled Than Shwe walks stiffly at his daughter's side wearing a starched white shirt and an orange longgyi, a traditional wrap.
The wedding's extreme lavishness sparked outrage among Myanmar's 53 million people, among the poorest in Asia.
-- He is known to have an intense personal dislike of Suu Kyi and is alleged to have walked out of a meeting with a foreign ambassador simply because her name was mentioned.
-- Rumours about his failing health and imminent demise are common, although they have proved unfounded so far.
In January, he paid a hush-hush two-week visit to a top Singapore hospital, missing an Independence Day banquet for the first time in 16 years.
His absence sparked reports he had been receiving treatment for intestinal cancer.
AlertNet news is provided by
We have two threads on these developments, any chance they could be joined?
Burmese military threatens monks
Monday, 24 September 2007, 15:59 GMT 16:59 UK
Buddhist monks march through Ahlone, a Rangoon suburb, on 24 September
Enlarge Image
Burma's ruling military junta has warned it is ready to "take action" against Buddhist monks leading mounting protests, state media have reported.
Brig Gen Thura Myint Maung, minister for religion, warned them not to break Buddhist "rules and regulations" as Rangoon saw the largest march yet.
He blamed the protests on "destructive elements" opposed to peace in Burma.
Monks are highly revered in Burma and any move by the junta to crush their demonstrations would spark an outcry.
Map of Rangoon showing locations in the democracy march
The military government has so far showed restraint against the protests but there are fears of a repeat of 1988, correspondents say, when the last democracy uprising was crushed by the military and some 3,000 people were killed.
Some monks' representatives had called for the entire country to join them in their campaign to overthrow the government, which began eight days ago.
Monday saw marches in at least 25 towns and cities, including Mandalay, Sittwe and Pakokku.
Turnout estimates in Rangoon, Burma's biggest city, range from 50,000 to 100,000.
'Communist plot'
According to state media, the minister for religion spoke after meeting senior members of the Buddhist clergy, whom he warned to control the militant young monks who appear to be leading the current street protests.
PROTESTS MOUNT
15 Aug: Junta doubles fuel prices, sparking protests
5 Sept: Troops injure several monks at a protest in Pakokku
17 Sept: The junta's failure to apologise for the injuries draws fresh protests by monks
18-21 Sept: Daily marches by monks in Burmese cities gradually gather in size
22 Sept: 1,000 monks march to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon
23 Sept: Up to 20,000 march in Rangoon
24 Sept: New Rangoon march draws at least 50,000 and 24 other towns join in
In pictures: Protests
Q&A: Protests in Burma
Send us your comments
In the first public response by the junta to the mass protests, he said action would be taken against the monks' protest marches "according to the law if they cannot be stopped by religious teachings".
No further details were forthcoming, but there was no hint of reconciliation in the government's message, BBC Asia correspondent Andrew Harding reports.
State television said the demonstrations of the past week were being fermented by communists and exiled media and student groups.
Our correspondent says Monday's marches are a show of defiance unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
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.
Civilians who joined in included officials from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The authorities are likely to be under huge pressure from their close neighbour China to avoid bloodshed and instability, our correspondent notes.
But if the demonstrations continue, he adds, the generals may see their authority ebb away and their options narrow.
Dalia Lama appeal
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has urged the military not to react with violence to the protests.
In a statement from the Tibetan government-in-exile, in Dharamsala in India, he said he fully supported the monks' call for freedom and democracy.
The White House has urged Burma's rulers to show restraint and seek dialogue with "those seeking freedom".
UK Ambassador Mark Canning said Burma's leaders were now in uncharted territory and he expressed concern about a possible government counter-reaction.
"That... would be a disaster, although in terms of probability it, I'm afraid, ranks quite high," he told the BBC.
Detained leader
A hard-core group of more than 1,000 of the maroon-robed monks and 400 sympathisers went to Aung San Suu Kyi's street at the end of Monday's march, the Associated Press reported.
They chanted a prayer for peace in the face of the riot police blocking access to her home, where she is under house arrest, before dispersing peacefully.
Monks have been urging Burmese people to hold 15-minute evening prayer vigils. The organisation that has emerged to lead the protests, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks, has vowed to continue marches until it has "wiped the military dictatorship from the land". The protests were triggered by the government's decision to double the price of fuel last month, hitting people hard in the impoverished nation.
news.bbc.co.uk
I guess the next step is to announce a severe penalty (life in prison) for photography or writing about of any of the demonstrations. Crackdowns will likely follow, and will be bloody I guess.
China silent on Burma protests
Monday, 24 September 2007, 15:48 GMT 16:48 UK
By James Reynolds
BBC News, Beijing
So far China has not made any public comment about the protests
China is one of the closest allies of the ruling junta in Burma, but so far it has not made any public comment about the protests there.
Traditionally, Beijing says that it does not comment on - or interfere in - other countries' internal affairs.
But China will be concerned about two things: the stability of Burma and the image of China.
A stable Burma is important for China, as it is a corridor to the Indian Ocean and also a valuable trading partner.
China wants to keep it that way. So instability or even war in Burma is not in China's interest.
But neither is a bloody crackdown, because China is worried about its own image in the run up to next year's Beijing Olympic Games.
And a Beijing-backed crackdown in Burma would spoil China's idea of a trouble-free Olympics.
China always insists that it has no role in deciding how its trading partners run their countries.
But over the last year the Chinese government has shown some willingness to engage in dialogue with some of its more controversial allies.
Earlier this year, here in Beijing, China brokered a deal to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions.
It has also agreed to allow an international force to be sent into Darfur - and is sending along some peacekeepers of its own.
But human rights campaigners say that China still refuses to use its huge economic leverage to persuade countries like these to adopt real change.
news.bbc.co.uk
The worldwide attention turned to China for the olympics, it might be time to shit or get off the pot for them on this issue.
Myanmar anti-junta protests biggest in 20 years
24 Sep 2007 16:04:42 GMT
Source: Reuters
snip
The ruling military junta, which had been silent since the monks' protests began six days ago, threatened them with legal action.
Minister for Religious Affairs Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung was quoted on state-owned radio as saying "actions will be taken against the monks' protest marches according to the law if they cannot be stopped by religious teachings."
Speaking to senior members of the State Monks Council, he said the protests were incited by "destructive elements who do not want to see peace, stability and progress in the country."
snip
alertnet.org
Mon opposition backs monks’ protest
Sep 24, 2007 (DVB)—The New Mon State Party said today that they were willing to throw their weight behind monks protesting in the country.
Naing Aung Ma-ngae from the NMSP said that the group welcomed the protests led by the monks and that the party would be willing to join in the demonstrations if called on.
“Tripartite discussions and the release of political prisoners in Burma is what we have been calling for also. This matches the demands of the monks. We welcome these protests,” Naing Aung Ma-ngae said.
“We would also like to warn the soldiers that, according to Buddhist beliefs, people who make monks bleed have committed a great sin and will go to hell. So we would like to urge them not to physically harm the monks.”
Since the recent wave of protests against the military started on August 19, several analysts have said that ethnic-minority support for campaigns spearheaded in Bama areas of the country would be essential to their success.
Reporting by Aye Naing
english.dvb.no
A history of opression
The recent demonstrations have taken place against a background of strict media censorship, writes Nem Davies
The press censorship laws in Burma are draconian to say the least. In its latest move the Burmese military junta has disconnected telephone lines of journalists, leading politicians and activists to curb free the flow of information to the world outside.
One journal editor, worried about the disconnection, told Index that the authorities had disconnected over 20 mobile and landline phones in a week.
‘They disconnected some of my colleagues' mobile and landline phones and of some leading politicians. The junta should not have disconnected the telephones of journalists,’ he said.
snip
indexonline.org
Well, if they can get the Shan army and other drug kingpins behind it, may be party time....I doubt it.
Meanwhile, I wonder if this crisis in Burma is a positive or negative in terms of either deflecting attention away from Thailand or focusing attention on Thailand? Could be a good time for our own lovely junta to drag their heels more, to ensure they've battoned-down the hatches here at home.
chalk 'n cheese ,
our good generals have things under control ,
have had ever since they were awarded a 50% appointed Senate ,
the rest is window dressing ..........................
In pictures: Anti-junta rallies in Burma
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters led by Buddhist monks have rallied in Burma's main city of Rangoon.
Demands ranged from calls for the military government to step down to requests for negotiations and economic reforms.
Among those who joined in were members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Columns of protesters stretched for about a mile (1.6km), some participants said.
They said as many as 100,000 people marched, making it the biggest protest in the past several days. Rallies were also reportedly held in other cities.
Security forces were not in evidence for most of the march in Rangoon, but Burma's military junta later warned it was ready to "take action" against protesters.
Monks are revered in Burma, but there are fears of a repeat of 1988, when a pro-democracy uprising was brutally crushed by the army.
news.bbc.co.uk
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