In Solidarity With The Burmese People
This is not the time to try balancing acts. This is not the time to urge restraint on the military devils in Burma. This is the time to take sides.
There is only one way this can end. The military regime is Burma has to totally and unconditionally give up power. Suu Kyi gets to form a multi-party interim government that will take the country to elections to a constituent assembly within a year. The military goes back to the barracks immediately.
In the mean time, all use of force against people using their fundamental human right to peaceful assembly is to be documented. All violations are to be punished after Suu Kyi comes to power. And that punishment part has to be publicized. Those who give orders will get punished. Those who carry out illegal orders will get punished.
If you are a president or prime minister of a country that has been a democracy for two, 20 or 200 years, this is your one chance to stand by the people of Burma. The more clearly and forcefully you stand by the people of Burma, fewer people will die in the protests, fewer will get injured. The sacrifice on the way to democracy will be lesser. If you stay quiet, you will have blood on your hands. That is what it boils down to.
There are not going to be peace talks with the military junta. They have to give up power, totally and unconditionally, and that is the only way.
Suu Kyi's interim government will draft an interim constitution that will put the army where it belongs in that country's power arrangement, firmly under control of the civilian prime minister.
You don't have to be a head of state. You can be somebody, anybody, a nobody, you could be anywhere in the world, and you can express support. The louder, the stronger the support, fewer people will die, fewer will get injured.
The military devils in Burma must be made to feel the entire world has stopped doing everything else it was doing, and the entire world is watching their every move. Everything they do is being recorded in the collective memory of humankind, and there will be hell to pay later if they misbehave now.
Not just the monks, but the masses in Burma must be made to feel the world stands with them clearly and unequivocally and all the way. They must be encouraged to come out in the tens of hundreds of thousands. That is the only way. Freedom is not going to be a gift of some foreign power. Freedom will have to be earned.
There has to be an overwhelming show of force by the masses. Come out into every street in every town, in every city, day after day after day until the military is no longer in power. The more overwhelming your presence out in the streets, fewer people will die, fewer will get injured, the goal will be achieved sooner.
You have done it for a week. Do it for two weeks or more and it will all be over. Do not, do not give up.
The military rulers of Burma must be reached with all channels of communication possible, they have to be threatened with every international law they will be violating if they opt to try and put down the demonstrations violently.
They should be threatened that they will be taken to the international criminal court for crimes against humanity, and that threat has to be carried out if they misbehave.
Sanctions are not enough. Sanctions alone only hurt the people. There have to be threats that violent suppressions of peaceful demonstrations violate international law, and those giving and carrying out the illegal orders will be dealt with later on.
There has to be an attempt to infiltrate the police and the military with warnings that illegal orders followed can come to haunt you later on.
The people of Burma must act brave. It is now or never. It is do or die. Karo ya maro.
The Burmese diaspora must realize this is their last chance. It is now or never. They must be the force that forces the world to pay attention. They must work to extend all possible moral and logistical support to those inside the country. The diaspora in the neighboring countries have a major role to play.
Suu Kyi's democratic government is not going to be against the economic interests of India, China or Russia. Suu Kyi will do business. She will do better business than the awkward military generals.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
Defy The Curfew, Fill Up The Jails
Fill up the jails in hundreds of thousands. You will all get out within weeks.
How many will they jail? Only so many. How many can they shoot? Only so many. Unlike in 1988, this time they will have hell to pay.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
2008 Olympics
If China does not actively work on the generals to make sure they don't unleash terror on the demonstrators, the Olympics next year must be boycotted by the democracies of the world.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
Engineering A Coup
There have got to be some people inside the Burmese military who are not exactly fans of the top guys who come across as every bit dud and boring. If they can be reached, an attempt has to be made to topple the top generals through a military coup.
The soldiers who would actually carry out the orders to kill the people in the thousands: I don't believe they want to do that deep in their hearts. But they have to know this regime is at the brink of collapse. They have to be told so.
In other words, infiltrate the police, infiltrate the army through any and all contacts you might have.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
Gang Of 200
At most, that is how many guys are going to have to be punished. Identify who they are. Turn the security forces against them. These are the guys living fancy lives while ordinary soldiers are sent out to do dirty work. Those soldiers must think for themselves and their fellow citizens.
The corrupt generals are in it for the money and the lavish lifestyle that they don't share with the ordinary soldiers or even ranking officers. One of those ranking officers could turn the tap on the generals.
These bad guys are not even 0.0002% of the country's population.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
India
There is no way India can emerge a global superpower if it does not become a staunch force for democracy in the world, starting from its own neighborhood. If India helps Burma now, the Suu Kyi government will also reward it economically later.
India has the advantage of itself being a democracy, unlike China. And the Indian activists and civil society don't have to have no qualms. They can jump in onto the situation.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
Monks Alone Can't Do It
Monks are out asking for an "apology." Before the regime manipulates them into getting off the streets, the students and the hard core democracy activists must work to get the larger population out into the streets in the largest demonstrations possible.
There has to be a clear slogan.
End Military Rule, Now!
No talks, no compromise.
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
In The News
Iran’s Media Assail President’s Treatment New York Times adversarial hosts, whom it described as Zionist Jews. ..... “Mr. Ahmadinejad was the center of the world news for the past few days,” said the reporter. ....... the audience booing Mr. Ahmadinejad when he said there were no homosexuals in Iran ...... “New York is the headquarters of Zionist Jews, and they have control over Columbia University,” he said. “It seems that our diplomacy apparatus had not given complete information to the president.”
Miliband to discuss Burma crisis The Press Association called for tough sanctions from the international community if the Buddhist-led revolt was violently suppressed. ...... tens of thousands of monks, nuns and ordinary Burmese citizens ..... In 1988 about 3,000 people were killed when a popular uprising was brutally put down by the regime.
The barefoot art of war
CHRONOLOGY-A month of mushrooming protests in Myanmar
Obama leads in fundraising again Newsday Obama is expected to pull in between $18 million and $19 million ..... Clinton will take in between $17 million and $19 million ..... key primary states, trailing Clinton by double digits in all early battlegrounds except Iowa. ..... The former first lady has widened her lead over Obama in the Granite State to a commanding 23 points .... Obama, who is planning a rally tomorrow in Harlem, weighed in on the controversy over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's trip to New York, telling a radio interviewer he didn't agree with the blanket coverage in city tabloids. "The way to approach petty tyrants is not to inflate them," he told WNYC's Brian Lehrer yesterday.
Troops surround Myanmar monasteries Aljazeera.net, Qatar soldiers and riot police around at least six big monasteries .... An estimated 50,000-100,000 protesters marched through the streets of Yangon on Monday in the biggest demonstration yet against the military government. .... "People do not tolerate the military government any longer." .... Reports from inside the country indicated that the government had cut off internet access and there were also unconfirmed reports that Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate who has been under house arrest, had been moved to prison. ...... "This morning I'm announcing a series of steps to help bring peaceful change to [Myanmar]," Bush said in a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. .... "The United States will tighten economic sanctions on the leaders of the regime and their financial backers, and we will impose an expanded visa ban on those responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights as well as their family members." ..... government agents had been preparing to infiltrate the protests in order to spark trouble and justify a crackdown. ....... Irene Khan, the secretary-general for Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, appealed to the UN Security Council to immediately send a mission to Myanmar. .... "The high risk of a crackdown against the demonstrators makes it imperative for the international community to act urgently," Khan said, adding that China, Japan and India had a role to play in ensuring stability in Myanmar. .... The London-based Burma Campaign UK said it had a received reports of soldiers ordered to shave their heads, apparently to pose as monks and infiltrate the protests. ..... "They would start rioting or attacking police, providing the regime with a pretext for a brutal crackdown on protesters," the group said. ..... "There is an underlying suffering that is now being expressed." ..... About 90 per cent of Myanmar's population is Buddhist. At some point in their lives, every Buddhist male is expected to join the monk hood or 'Sangha'. Every village or neighbourhood has its own pagoda and monastery, which traditionally serves as the focus for community life and the main centre for education. In recent years rising levels of poverty have raised demand for the free education provided by the monasteries.
Myanamar protests unlikely to bring change, analysts say Chicago Tribune, United States decades of inward-looking rule and Western sanctions ..... vehicles fitted with loudspeakers into the streets, warning people "not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches." ..... The warnings appeared to significantly reduce the size of the protests ...... On Tuesday, many supporters appeared to stay home, reducing the crowd of protesters—mainly monks—to about 10,000 people ...... the sanctions campaign, similar to what the U.S. has imposed on Cuba, is more likely to continue hurting the nation's people than forcing change in Myanmar's 45-year military leadership. ....... the country, which has large natural gas reserves, is between China and India, two emerging superpowers with a growing thirst for natural gas. In recent years both countries have cut deals to build gas pipelines across Myanmar, and Russia has signed an early deal to explore for offshore oil and natural gas reserves. Thailand similarly is investing $6 billion in a huge hydropower project. ..... "You can never isolate a country sandwiched between two of the fastest-growing economies in the world ..... Myanmar's top generals, most of them devout Buddhists, have been cautious about cracking down on the monks, widely seen as the country's top moral authority. ..... under house arrest for 12 of the last 17 years. ...... hard-line young monks, ready to face bullets rather than return to their monasteries...... "what is not possible is the collapse of this militarized state," Zarni said. "You can't compare what is happening in Burma right now with the Orange or Velvet Revolution in Europe," where protests movements looked for inspiration to perestroika in Russia. In Myanmar, "the state is deeply supported by China and they're not about to launch perestroika"
Regime in Myanmar bans gatherings New York Daily News, NY Bush accused the regime of imposing "a 19-year reign of fear" that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship. ..... pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been moved from house arrest to the notorious Insein prison
Myanmar monks defy junta, resume rallies Kansas City Star, MO soldiers in full battle gear were deployed Tuesday in the country's largest city, setting the stage for a showdown with a determined pro-democracy protest movement. ...... When faced with a similar crisis in 1988, the government harshly put down a student-led democracy uprising. Security forces fired into crowds of peaceful demonstrators and killed thousands, traumatizing the nation. ....... Authorities announced the ban on gatherings and a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew through loudspeakers on vehicles cruising the streets of Yangon, the country's biggest city, and its second city, Mandalay. The announcement said the measures would be in effect for 60 days. ...... the Dalai Lama and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu ..... "Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma," Bush said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. ..... Human Rights Watch said Myanmar's allies including China, Thailand, India and Russia, should urge the military government to respond to the peaceful protests without violence. ...... At least 35,000 Buddhist monks and sympathizers defied official warnings Tuesday and staged another anti-government march. ....... Authorities in cars cruised Yangon's streets Tuesday morning, announcing the clergy had been directed not to take part in "secular affairs" ..... The head of the country's official Buddhist organization, or Sangha, issued a directive Monday ordering monks to stick to learning and propagating the faith, saying young monks were being "compelled by a group of destructive elements within and without to break the law," the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. ....... A monk who addressed the crowd at the end of the march vowed the protests would continue until the government apologizes for mistreating monks at an earlier demonstration in northern Myanmar.
Narrow vision marks Myanmar generals they claim to be binding a fractious nation together and safeguarding against anarchy that could come from many contending ethnic groups. And they see themselves as paragons of development. ......... destroyed what had been one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies, and what little resources remained were put into the army's battle against ethnic minority groups along the border seeking autonomy ........ Gen. Than Shwe ... is said to be superstitious and consult with astrologers, but otherwise has a public image that is taciturn in the extreme. .... Stories abound that the two leaders are more rivals than friends. ...... Rumor has it that Than Shwe cannot even bring himself to utter her name, while Maung Aye is believed by some to have been behind an attack on her convoy when she was making a political trip in northern Myanmar, from which she barely escaped with her life. ...... The 62-year-old Oxford-educated Suu Kyi is every bit as urbane as the generals are roughhewn.
Protesters defy junta Hindu, India
Myanmar bans gatherings and imposes curfew after monks defy ... The Canadian Press
Myanmar Junta Deploys Troops in Yangon as Tension Mounts eFluxMedia
China Nudges Myanmar on Protests The Associated Press A senior Chinese official asked junta envoys this month to reconcile with opposition democratic forces. And China arranged a low-key meeting in Beijing between Myanmar and State Department envoys to discuss the release of the leading opposition figure. ...... China's influence in Myanmar is second to none and could be decisive in restraining the junta from a violent confrontation with protesters. ....... China has deftly filled the diplomatic and economic vacuum, eyeing Myanmar as a strategic path to the Indian Ocean, investing in its teak forests, gas and mineral fields and picking up an ally in the junta. ...... Myanmar "was a vassal state of China's for centuries, and it's fast reverting to that status ...... With an Olympics in Beijing next year already bringing China heightened scrutiny, Chinese leaders are likely loath to be associated with another repressive, unpopular regime. ....... caused Beijing to pare back lending to Zimbabwe and put pressure on Sudan ..... the "Genocide Olympics" if Beijing did not act ..... the Chinese government's senior diplomat told visiting Myanmar leaders to seek a peaceful resolution. ..... In May, Beijing telegraphed its frustration with Myanmar's rulers. The Foreign Ministry briefly posted on its Web site a critical account of the junta's decision to move the capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw, a remote site with a shoddy airport and no cell phone service.
Myanmar key is with China Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
Myanmar junta sets curfew amid mass protests Wiener Zeitung, Österreich
Britain wants to see Suu Kyi installed in power Sify, India
Monks rekindle hope for change in Myanmar Hindustan Times, India
Myanmar: Riot Police Deployed To Yangon Stratfor
Myanmar troops patrol streets after mass protests Euronews.net, France
Eighth day of protests by monks in Myanmar USA Today
Burmese Monks Protest Despite Junta’s Warning New York Times, United States “People are not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches,” the announcements said. “Action will be taken against those who violate this order.” ....... Yangon and Mandalay would be under the control of the local military commanders for 60 days. ...... five army trucks, each capable of carrying 50 soldiers, were parked less than a kilometer from City Hall and the Sule Pagoda ...... an ethnic militia that has been fighting a decades-long guerrilla war said that government troops had been withdrawn from their remote jungle area. ........ “The government has ordered the 22nd Division troops to pull out of Karen state and return to Yangon,” Colonel Nerda Mya of the Karen National Union told the news agency. “We believe the troops will be used as in 1988.” ..... the government might use provocateurs to stir violence and justify a crackdown, as it did in 1988. The Burma Campaign UK said its sources had reported the junta ordering large numbers of maroon monastic robes and telling soldiers to shave their heads, possibly to infiltrate the monks. ....... the National Council of the Union of Burma, a coalition of opposition groups based in Thailand ..... the cheers and the vigor of the day’s demonstrations were as strong as ever, but with a new sense of trepidation over the possibility of a violent crackdown. ..... “Sufficiency in food, clothing and shelter, national reconciliation, freedom for all political prisoners.” ....... protests by monks had also spread to cities like Mandalay, Hinthada and Monywa in seven of the 14 states and divisions. ..... these “destructive elements” included the political party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy advocate who is being held under house arrest; remnants of the now-defunct Communist Party; and some foreign radio stations. ...... “If serious loss of life is to be averted, those United Nations members with influence over the government are going to have to come together fast,” he said in an allusion to China, Russia and India.
Myanmar Monks Ordered to Cease Nationwide Protests FOX News
Suu Kyi 'rightful' leader says Britain Gulf Daily News, Bahrain
Junta confronts Saffron Revolution Globe and Mail, Canada How do you put down a protest led by Buddhist monks carrying nothing more threatening than begging bowls and banners extolling "love and kindness." That is the conundrum for Myanmar's military regime ........ a problem familiar to dictators throughout history: Let the protests continue and risk seeing the country spin out of their control or open fire on the protesters and risk a backlash at home and infamy abroad. ....... most belonging to the Theravada sect predominant in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. ...... in a long red river. As they passed, people gave them drinking water, flowers and balm for their feet. ....... roughly 100 Buddhist nuns in pale pink robes joined the protest. ...... in 1988, the regime showed no compunction about using force against unarmed demonstrators, mowing down thousands in the streets and cremating the bodies to cover its crime. ....... appeared on state television to accuse the monks of being manipulated by Myanmar's enemies at home and abroad ..... claimed that the protesting monks represented just 2 per cent of the country's population and warned that, unless senior monks did not rein them in, the regime would act "according to the law." ....... Roughly half a million men sport the shaven head and saffron or vermillion robe that marks them as monks, walking barefoot through the streets asking for alms with their familiar round begging bowls. ..... Nearly every Buddhist, including officers and top generals, has a brother or cousin or friend who is a monk. ...... the Saffron Revolution, after the Rose and Orange revolutions that peacefully overthrew entrenched regimes in Georgia and Ukraine ...... the long, disciplined lines of monks in towns and cities across the country, marching through monsoonal downpours, chanting prayers for loving kindness ...... Like Pakistan's military government, which funds mosques and Islamic schools to pose as the protector of Islam, the regime has spent millions refurbishing temples, placing gold leaf on the dome of Rangoon's famous Shwedagon Pagoda and building retreats for Buddhist meditation. ....... To make the barb bite deeper, they have also refused to perform religious duties for its members. In effect, they are excommunicating the generals. ..... Along with calling for an apology, they are now demanding the freeing of imprisoned democracy activists. ...... "Long life and health for Aung San Suu Kyi, may she have freedom soon," the monks chanted in the rain.
Junta threatens monks leading protest throngs Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX increasing pressure on the junta to either crack down on a reinvigorated democracy movement or compromise with it.
Western countries urge junta to exercise restraint Montreal Gazette, Canada He said the pro-democracy movement isn't strong enough to topple the military regime.
Thousands protest in Myanmar KTUU, AK
