In Burma, the Resistance and Repression Carry On (updated)

  Posted by Cockney Robin |  If you're wondering about the dissidents of Burma/Myanmar, the BBC now says that about 4000 are being held at a disused racecourse and a technical college, as the government prepares to send them away to prisons in the north.(BBC News; BBC News) They've been disrobed and shackled, and---depending on which report you read----are either refusing to eat (BBC News) or are not being given adequate food and water, not that these possibilities are necessarily mutually exclusive.  The government admits that 9 or 10 people ---including, presumably, this monk photographed by the Democratic Voice of Burma----were killed; human rights organizations think it was certainly more.  Some say the dead are more likely to number 200 than 10 ; others estimate that it's more likely (so far) to be around 40. (BBC News)  

Given that the 1988 protests ended with an estimated 3000 killed by the junta, you can see why people feel that the "worst may be yet to come." (BBC News)  Though  "worst" is a relative term, and you can see from this smuggled CNN footage how bad things have already been.

An international aid worker who just left Burma told CNN of seeing bodies left lying in the street as a deliberate message to the crowd. "To see Burmese people display any kind of anger was incredible to me," she said. "These are people who are peaceful, gentle, turn-the-other-cheek people. ... It's difficult for a Westerner to grasp how significant that is. ... This is huge."(Raw Story) 

Conditions for those now in captivity---one of whom may be a 10 year old novice monk--- appear to be grim indeed.  A spokesman for the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Burmese exile group, in Mae Sot and who has received smuggled messages said yesterday that in addition to being given little food or water, the captives are being tormented by the mosquitoes but not provided with mosquito netting,  and that sick monks with conditions such as diabetes and heart conditions aren't being provided with medicine. (The Independent)) You and I might think that these allegations, not to mention the footage published at CNN, point to human rights violations by the junta, but the generals have a different view of the matter, if we are to be guided by the Burmese Foreign Minister.   One wants to be fair to all parties, of course, so here's his take on it:

Foreign Minister Nyan Win told the UN that 'political opportunists' have exploited a protest against a rise in fuel prices along with protests by "a small group of Buddhist clergy demanding apology for maltreatment of fellow monks by local authorities."(BBC News; see DVB website)   Wait, what was that second one again?  Never mind, because whatever the initial provocation, Burmese security forces have excercised 'utmost restraint' in stopping an 'unruly and provocative mob' in order to restore normal conditions.(BBC News)    I'm sure that the 10 year old novice they are (allegedly) holding would have been a serious threat to the social. order.  We can all imagine how unruly, not to say 'provocative', those 10 year old monks can be.

At the moment, it's hard to know anything because of the 'tightening' by the junta of 'the media screw'---a good image for a bad situation (BBC News).   "Most of the country's internet link to the outside world has been cut, mobile phone signals are blocked and telephone lines are almost completely down." (BBC News).

And while one's first reaction might be to blame the generals, a telecoms ministry official told one news agency that the internet link is down because an underwater cable is damaged.(BBC News)  What's a junta to do?  Sometimes you can log onto the internet and sometimes you can't.   We've all been there, yeah?

But as my BN-Politics fellow contributor Nicholas pointed out last week, the internet has been a crucial weapon for Burmese dissidents.  Bloggers say their Burmese contacts are no longer posting to the internet and journalists are no longer receiving images and emails from inside the country.  International phone signals have been interrupted and the security forces are searching people for cameras and mobiles.  Last Friday they shut down the internet cafes.  Phone lines to opposition politicians and to monasteries that were especially active in the protests have been cut.  Websites that showed information about the government's responses to the protest are blocked.   ((BBC News))

 
On the other hand, with the opposition voices silenced, the junta are managing to get their message out.  The New Light of Myanmar website said on Thursday "Saboteurs from inside and outside the nation and some foreign radio stations, who are jealous of national peace and development, have been making instigative acts through lies to cause internal instability and civil commotion." (BBC News).  That's it:  they're all just jealous.  Not that jealousy would be an illegitimate motive for protesting this regime that's been sucking the country dry and siphoning off the profits of any development to maintain their own lavish lifestyles....but I digress.

Headlines from one report at the New Light of Myanmar site dated 26 September announce:  "Protesters throw stones at members of security forces and use catapults;  Two senior police, six others wounded;  One protester killed, three wounded."  If you read their version, the police did all they could to "disperse" the protest without violence till the stone-throwing protesters forced them to resort to shooting them.  Two innocent motorbikes lost their lives and a number of the gun-wielding police forces plus "two senior officials  "were injured."   I suppose we shouldn't blame them from firing into the crowd.

The security forces near the Sule Pagoda using loudspeakers persuaded the crowd not to move forward and to disperse peacefully. However, the crowd mobbed the security forces in crescendo throwing stones and sticks at them and using catapults. The members of the security forces moved back to the second line from the first. They again persuaded the crowd not to use violence against them and to disperse peacefully. But the protesters refused to obey their orders and raided the security forces at the second line for the second time throwing stones at them and using catapults. At the same time the mob took two motorcycles of the security forces and burnt down them. They tried to grab the arms of security forces. On account of the unavoidable circumstances, the members of the security forces fired some shots employing the least force to disperse the mob. The protesters dispersed due to the shots. Two motorbikes were destroyed and eight members of the police force including two senior officials were injured.

.  (New Light of Myanmar, 26 Sept 07; emphasis added)

The government-operated television station reported that people were being "intimidated" into joining the demos and that the government favours stability and peace and opposes unrest and violence.  And this may well be the case.  After all, what's more stable and peaceful than a dead monk?

In the mean time, tensions in Rangoon/Yangon reportedly remain high. People are frightened, and with good reason, since the arrest of dissidents---"under cover of nightfall"--- continues. (BBC News) And the government evidently isn't taking any chances that even a small protest may erupt. 

One man said he was chatting to a group of about 20 friends on a street corner on Friday when troops suddenly began to shoot, and they all had to run for safety.

There are also persistent rumours, which the military has not denied, that a notoriously violent group of pro-government thugs was part of the force sent to quash the monks' protests last week.(BBC News)

While I'm not entirely sure I believe the "just chatting to 20 friends" story of the man who found himself being shot at by Burmese security forces, either way it's one more instance of (extreme) violence being used to suppress peaceable dissent.   

According to this BBC report, the Burmese people are far from reconciled and far from ready to give in, at least over the long haul.  A woman quoted in the article said that attacking monks is the worst thing the military could do and that the people can't give in and give up. (BBC News)  A man indicated that though protesters are now lying low because their leaders are being detained, they won't remain supine indefinitely.  And the monks continue to resist.  "Monasteries around the country are still refusing to accept alms from the military - a hugely symbolic act in such a devoutly Buddhist nation." (BBC News)

According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, over 10,000 people staged a protest against the government's harassment of demonstrators yesterday.  

"We shouted slogans calling for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and demanding that the government stop harassing monks," said a person who joined the protest. "We also went to Mahagyi pagoda in town and prayed for freedom for those who have been detained," added the protestor.

And people who can't take their protests to the streets are switching off their tellies between 8 and 8:15, the time when official news is on "as a silent snub" to their rulers.(The Independent)

Will the UN envoy be able to be able to achieve his mission to persuade the junta to cease the repression of peaceable dissent? (BBC News)  In Burma/Myanmar, the UN envoy Mr Ibrahim Gambari at last was permitted to meet the generals. (The Independent)

That Mr Gambari, having met with the generals, flew back to meet again with Suu Kyi is said to have raised a "flicker of hope." (The Independent)

 
RELATED BN-POLITICS POSTS

Burma: Where are the Monks?

In Burma....

Jon Swift:  "Burma Schmurma."

Burma's Ruling Junta vs. the People   

The Internet: a weapon in the Burmese rebels' armoury

LINKS

1. Junta Tightens Media Screw (BBC News)
2.  CNN shows smuggled footage of bloody Myanmar crackdown (Raw Story)
3.  Burmese minister blames protests on “opportunists” and outsiders (Democratic Voice of Burma:  DVB)
4.  Arakan protests continue despite threats from authorities (DVB)
5. Burmese Play Tense Waiting Game (BBC News)
6. Envoy holds key talks (BBC News)
7. Burma Hurtling Into the Unknown (BBC News)
8. Burmese monks to be "sent away" (BBC News)
9. Monks Missing as Bustle Returns (BBC News)
10. Images from the Crackdown (BBC News)
11. Burmese junta opens door to talks with Suu Kyi  (The Independent)
12. Burma's 1988 protests (BBC News) 

Comments

[Free Burma!]

Free Burma!
International 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

[Free Burma!]

Free Burma!
International 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