Yesterday I posted this diary about the rapidly evolving situation in Burma/Myanmar. (And thank you again to the good rescue rangers at DKos for the extra push!) This is a follow-up and update.
Monday was another dramatic and convulsive day across the country. The website for The Irawaddy is reporting massive demonstrations in Yangon (the capital), Sittwe (a main city in NW Burma), and Pakkoku (central Burma). The epicenter is the Shwedegon, the massive, magnificent sacred pagoda at the heart of Yangon. Here are excerpts from The Irawaddy about the Yangon protests:
Tamwe Township, Rangoon; 9 a.m.—About 400 monks began a demonstration march in Rangoon’s Tamwe Township at 9 a.m., according to a monk in Rangoon. The monks gathered in front of the Tamwe’s Yuzana Plaza in preparation to march to Shwedagon Pagoda where they were going to be offered lunch by a group of artists and writers. Other groups of monks were also planning to gather at Shwedagon. From Shwedagon, the monks plan to continue their march through the city.
Rangoon; 11 a.m.—Trucks carrying soldiers are patrolling the city. Medical doctors and nurses were reportedly gathering at Shwedagon in case of a confrontation. Government offices and many private businesses were reported closed today over fears of a confrontation between the government and protestors. Monks marching in Rangoon are expected to draw a large number of civilian supporters.
Bahan, Rangoon; noon —More than 1,000 monks, accompanied by some 10,000 protesters, staged a peaceful demonstration starting from Shwedagon Pagoda, according to a witness. Several people got out of their cars to join in, the witness said. The monks and protesters marched to the headquarters of the National League for Democracy, Burma’s leading opposition party. The monks stopped at the NLD office for a few minutes and recited the "Paritta Sutta" (a prayer for protection from evil or harm). Leaving the NLD headquarters, several members of parliament who were elected in 1990, joined the march. Many well-known writers and poets also took part in the demonstration. There are rumors that a famous Burmese actor, Kyaw Thu, was arrested by the Burmese authorities near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon.
Rangoon; 2 p.m.— Several state schools in Rangoon’s downtown have been closed down. Currently, the demonstrators are heading to Sule Pagoda. The crowd has swollen to about 30,000 people, including about 20 celebrities.
Rangoon; 4 p.m.—Buddhist monks have led at least 100,000 protesters through the streets of Rangoon on Monday. The demonstration began at noon at Shwedagon Pagoda and covered at least 8 km (5 miles) in its first few hours, passing by the old campus of Rangoon University, a hotbed of protest in times past. Students, artists and members of parliament who were elected in 1990 were seen joining in Monday's march, witnesses said.
With this kind of escalation, it is just a matter of time now before the miltary rulers respond. There seems to be a consensus among those observing these events that the junta thugs have been constrained up until now by their fear of a complete citizen uprising, and by pressures from the Chinese leadership next door (with whom they have made common cause over resource exploitation). But now that restraint may be breaking. From a new AP story, Thousands More Follow Monks in Protest:
On Monday night...the country's religious affairs minister appeared on state television to issue a warning. Meeting with senior monks at Rangoon's Kaba Aye Pagoda, Brig. Gen. Thura Myint Maung said that if senior monks did not restrain the demonstrators, the government would take action. The protesters, he added, had been incited by "destructive elements who do not want to see peace, stability and progress in the country."
The reference to "senior monks" is telling. By all the accounts I've read, the uprising is being driven and led by the young monks. A representative quote from the same story:
"I don't like the government," said a 20-year-old monk participating in the protest in the central city of Mandalay. "The government is very cruel, and our country is full of troubles."
Also of note:
Students joined the protest in noticeable numbers for the first time.
Here, meanwhile, is the best commentary I've read tonight, "The last public voice of democracy in Myanmar," by Jeff Pearce at GlobeandMail.com:
It's hard to watch the news these days when it's full of Afghanistan and Iraq, while an astonishing display of courage goes on almost completely ignored (at least until the past few days) in another Third World corner. This is Myanmar, where Buddhist monks are leading protests against the ruling military junta. It's up to the monks because no ordinary person can march in the streets of Rangoon (officially known as Yangon) without the risk of being shot or hauled away to prison. It also seems to be up to the monks because we in the West aren't doing very much about it.
...The Burmese would be the first to tell you they don't want any Afghanistan-style military intervention. But they would probably welcome the supportive chorus of a watching West and increased diplomatic pressure.
It's a nice piece. Please read the rest of it if you are just getting up to snuff on the story. He gives a nice capsule history in Myanmar/Burma and the current turmoil.
This is about to become a more prominent international story as the United Nations' opening session convenes. Count on Bush to do his usual bit: pull out the standard heroic rhetoric, claim solidarity with those who truly know what courage is all about, ignore the fact that he'sdone nothing in the last six years to challenge the regime, and do nothing substantive to support the protesters.... This one is going to be a test of all who think of themselves as international leaders.
But I hope the real story gets out and reaches the younger generation: This movement is being led by deeply principled young people -- your generation. They may live in a country you've hardly heard of, live lives that are very foreign to you, belong to an unfamiliar religion, and all wear the same exotic robes of deep red... but right now they are showing the world what it means to stand up for justice and peace and righteousness.
After reading about today's events in Burma, and also this diary below, I can go to bed tonight, at least, with a sense of hope.
Namaste.
UPDATE Reuters has just posted a new story, "Myanmar Junta Threatens Action Against Protesters". It is a very omenous report. Here's how it opens:
Myanmar's generals threatened action against further attempts at demonstrations on Tuesday and parked military trucks at Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda, the assembly point for monks leading the main protests.
Loudspeaker vehicles touring central Yangon did not specify what action would be taken after the biggest protest against the junta since 1988, when the military crushed pro-democracy demonstrations and killed an estimated 3,000 people.
"People are not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches. Action will be taken against those who violate this order," the message broadcast across the former Burma's largest city said.
The broadcasts also accused factions within the deeply revered Buddhist monkhood of instigating protest marches "with intent to incite unrest."
And how's this for unbelievable:
The Burma Campaign UK said its sources had reported the junta ordering 3,000 maroon monastic robes and telling soldiers to shave their heads, possibly to infiltrate the mass ranks of monks marching for an end to 45 years of unbroken military rule.
It ends with this statement:
On the streets of Yangon, the mood was one of jubilation on Monday as years of frustration were allowed into the open and trepidation at the possible consequence from generals caught on the horns of a major dilemma.
"I'm very excited and frankly I'm worried too," said one teacher who watched the columns of monks carrying placards calling for "Better Living Conditions" and the "Release of Political Prisoners."
It is going to be a difficult few days ahead I fear. Keep your candles lit.