Burma and Internet Freedom

The name “Myanmar” is derived from the local short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw.[5] This name was used as early as the 12th century, but its etymology remains unclear.

In 1989, the military junta officially changed the English version of the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar, along with changes to the English versions of many place names in the country, such as its former capital city from Rangoon to Yangon. The official name of the country in the Burmese language, Myanma, did not change. Within the Burmese language, Myanma is the written, literary name of the country, while Bama or Bamar (from which “Burma” derives) is the oral, colloquial name. In spoken Burmese, the distinction is less clear than the English transliteration suggests.

The renaming proved to be politically controversial.[6] Burmese opposition groups continue to use the name “Burma” since they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country. Some western governments, namely those of the United States, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, continue to use “Burma”, while the European Union uses "Burma/Myanmar" as an alternative.[7] The United Nations uses “Myanmar”.

Use of “Burma” and its adjective, “Burmese”, remains common in the United States and Britain. Some news organisations, such as the BBC and The Financial Times, still use these forms.[8][9] MSNBC, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and others use “Myanmar” as the country name and “Burmese” as the adjective. The Newshour with Jim Lehrer is not entirely consistent: Lehrer used to call the country Myanmar but now uses the phrase Myanmar””also referred to as Burma. Reporter Ray Suares, who has been reporting on recent events in Burma, now calls it Burma. The expert guests use various terms, but most use Burma.

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Japanese Minister heading to Burma
Posted 1 hour 54 minutes ago

Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka is on his way to Burma to demand an explanation about the death of a Japanese journalist.

Fifty-year-old Kenji Nagai was shot at close range as he filmed protests in Rangoon on Thursday.

Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda says he is weighing up his country's response.

"We will have to think carefully to figure out what is the best thing to do - what is the best choice for Japan?" he said.

"By sending Deputy Foreign Minister Yabunaka to Burma we will find a way to solve this issue, and to make further decisions. Sanctions are not the best step to take now."

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/29/2046840.htm
Burma death toll much higher than reported: Downer
Posted 2 hours 35 minutes ago
Updated 1 hour 30 minutes ago

Defiance: A monk is lifted in the air by a crowd chanting anti-government slogans in Rangoon city centre (Reuters)
• Video: Army ramps up anti-protest efforts in Burma (Lateline)
• Audio: Journalists struggle as Burma internet access cut (PM)
• Audio: Exiles running website on Burma unrest: editor (PM)
• Related Story: Japanese Minister heading to Burma
• Related Story: More Burma protesters arrested as curfew orders ignored
• Related Story: Dressing down for Burmese diplomat
• Related Story: Police, protesters clash outside Burmese Embassy
Crowds taunted and cursed security forces barricading central Rangoon overnight, as the junta tried to prevent more mass protests against Burma's 45 years of military rule and deepening economic hardship.
Meanwhile Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australian diplomats feared the true death toll in the country was much higher than has been reported so far, and could be in the hundreds.
Potentially deadly games of cat and mouse went on for hours around the barbed-wire barriers in a city terrified of a repeat of 1988, when the army killed an estimated 3,000 people in crushing an uprising.
Few Buddhist monks were among the crowds, unlike in previous days, after soldiers ransacked 10 monasteries on Thursday and carted off hundreds inside.
When the troops charged, the protesters vanished into narrow side streets, only to emerge elsewhere to renew their abuse until darkness fell and an overnight curfew took effect.
"We only want democracy," some yelled in English. "May the people who beat monks be struck down by lightning," others chanted in Burmese.
Journalists struggle as Burma internet access cut

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar
On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana, officially named it Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".

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On September 24, 2007, 20,000 monks and nuns led 30,000 people in a protest march from the golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, past the offices of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Myanmar’s comedian Zaganar and star Kyaw Thu brought food and water to the monks.

On Saturday, monks marched to greet Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest. On Sunday, about 150 nuns joined the marchers.[86] [87] By this time, the marchers' numbers had swelled to 100,000 protesters.[88] The march covered 5 miles in the first few hours, passing Yangon University to Sule Pagoda and past the U.S. Embassy, inter alia, with 100 white-robed nuns.

Condoleezza Rice said the George W. Bush administration was watching the situation “very carefully” – she said "The Burmese people deserve better. They deserve a life to be able to live in freedom, just as everyone does.”[89] On September 25, 2007, 2,000 Buddhist monks and supporters defied threats from Myanmar's junta. They marched to Yangon streets at Shwedagon Pagoda amid army trucks and warning of Brigadier-General Thura Myint Maung not to violate Buddhist "rules and regulations."[90] The same day, U.S. President George W. Bush announced that the United States would impose tighter sanctions on the military regime during his address before the U.N. General Assembly.[91]

The Junta has reportedly ordered some monk's robes from a factory, and have told army units to shave their heads. This could be a sign that they are preparing to use their old tactics of infiltrating the monks and framing them by causing violence.

On September 28, 2007, the city of 5 million people was unusually empty as people were afraid of soldiers who fired on crowds of protesters. President Thabo Mbeki called respect for peaceful protests versus junta ruling Myanmar. Buddhist monks were at a riot police road block, as Myanmar crackdown drew outrage, protests and demonstrations worldwide against Myanmar violence.

George Bush demanded end to Myanmar violence, as 9 dissidents were killed. China pleaded for calm, while the U.S. imposed sanctions on Myanmar leaders whose chief goal is to"Stay in power at all costs[citation needed]." Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged Myanmar "to takes steps toward democracy." U.S. envoy called on China to use influence with Myanmar.

As Myanmar's regime cracked down on a growing protest movement it cut public Internet access, because "citizen journalists" were reporting eyewitness accounts to the world. Journalist Kenji Nagai was reportedly shot and lying flat on his back on a street in Yango while taking photos of police and soldiers firing. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda regretted the killing and demanded full explanation of his death but he also declined to discontinue humanitarian aid to Myanmar. ASEAN was urged to join the push for a UN mission to Myanmar, while UNSC urged restraint by the Myanmar government .[92][93]

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United Nations and Myanmar
In 1961, U Thant, then Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations; he was the first non-Westerner to head any international organization and would serve as UN Secretary-General for ten years.[61] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi.
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In 1988, the Burmese army violently repressed protests against economic mismanagement and political oppression. On 8 August 1988, the military opened fire on demonstrators in what is known as 8888 Uprising and imposed martial law. However, the 1988 protests paved way for the 1990 People’s Assembly elections. The election results were subsequently annulled by Senior General Saw Maung’s government. The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won over 60% of the vote and over 80% of parliamentary seats in the 1990 election, the first held in 30 years. The military-backed National Unity Party won less than 2% of the seats. Aung San Suu Kyi has earned international recognition as an activist for the return of democratic rule, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The ruling regime has repeatedly placed her under house arrest. Despite a direct appeal by former U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan to Senior General Than Shwe and pressure by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Burmese military junta extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest .. etc

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Jim Carrey calls for people to support the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. He also decries Burma's military regime for recruiting more child soldiers than any other country in the world, destroying 3,000 villages in eastern Burma, and forcing 1.5 million refugees to flee. He appeals to viewers to join two organizations:

The Human Rights Action Center
www.humanrightsactioncenter.org

U.S. Campaign for Burma
www.uscampaignforburma.org

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Jim Carrey again calls for people to support the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. He decries Burma's military regime for recruiting more child soldiers than any other country in the world, destroying 3,000 villages in eastern Burma, and forcing 1.5 million refugees to flee. And he appeals to viewers to help her by emailing Ban Ki Moon at the United Nations using this address: inquiries@un.org

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Kaba Ma Kyei ("Till the End of the World, Myanmar") is the national anthem of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is often translated as "We Shall Never Give Up Our Motherland, Myanmar", but is relatively inaccurate in translating the title's meaning. Myanmar is among only a handful of non-European nations that have anthems rooted in indigenous traditions (including Japan, Iran, and Sri Lanka).

The melody and lyrics were written by Saya Tin, and adopted as the Burmese national anthem in 1947.

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Nobel Peace Prize
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:[23]

“ The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.
...Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression...

...In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means.

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The Bommersvik Declarations
In Bommersvik, Sweden, in 1995 and 2002, two conventions of the Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma took place and the following two landmark declarations were issued:[28][29]

Bommersvik Declaration I
In 1995, during the first convention that lasted from 16-23 July, the Representatives issued the Bommersvik Declaration I:[30]

“ We, the representatives of the people of Burma, elected in the 27 May 1990 general elections, meeting at the First Convention of Elected Representatives from the liberated areas of Burma, hereby - Warmly welcome the unconditional release of 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 July 1995; Thank all who have worked tirelessly and consistently for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause of democracy in Burma; Applaud Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's determination, in spite of having spent 6 years under house arrest, to continue to work to bring true democracy to Burma; Welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's return to politics to take up the mantle of her father, General Aung San, in Burma's second struggle for independence;... ”
— The Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma

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[edit] Bommersvik Declaration II
In 2002, during the second convention that lasted from 25 February to the 1st of March, the Representatives issued the Bommersvik Declaration II:[31]

“ We, the representatives of the people of Burma, elected in the 27 May 1990 general elections presently serving as members of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and/or the Members of Parliament Union, meeting at the Convention of Elected Representatives held in Bommersvik for the second time, hereby reaffirm - Our Mandate, Position, and Strategic Objectives - that we will never ignore the will of the Burmese people expressed through the May 1990 general elections; - that the military’s refusal to honor the election results does not in any way diminish the validity of these results..... ”
— The Elected Representatives of the Union of Burma

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Acceptance Speech delivered on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi, by her son Alexander Aris, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1991

Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I stand before you here today to accept on behalf of my mother, Aung San Suu Kyi, this greatest of prizes, the Nobel Prize for Peace. Because circumstances do not permit my mother to be here in person, I will do my best to convey the sentiments I believe she would express.

Firstly, I know that she would begin by saying that she accepts the Nobel Prize for Peace not in her own name but in the name of all the people of Burma. She would say that this prize belongs not to her but to all those men, women and children who, even as I speak, continue to sacrifice their wellbeing, their freedom and their lives in pursuit of a democratic Burma. Theirs is the prize and theirs will be the eventual victory in Burma's long struggle for peace, freedom and democracy.

Speaking as her son, however, I would add that I personally believe that by her own dedication and personal sacrifice she has come to be a worthy symbol through whom the plight of all the people of Burma may be recognised. And no one must underestimate that plight. The plight of those in the countryside and towns, living in poverty and destitution, those in prison, battered and tortured; the plight of the young people, the hope of Burma, dying of malaria in the jungles to which they have fled; that of the Buddhist monks, beaten and dishonoured. Nor should we forget the many senior and highly respected leaders besides my mother who are all incarcerated. It is on their behalf that I thank you, from my heart, for this supreme honour. The Burmese people can today hold their heads a little higher in the knowledge that in this far distant land their suffering has been heard and heeded.
We must also remember that the lonely struggle taking place in a heavily guarded compound in Rangoon is part of the much larger struggle, worldwide, for the emancipation of the human spirit from political tyranny and psychological subjection. The Prize, I feel sure, is also intended to honour all those engaged in this struggle wherever they may be. It is not without reason that today's events in Oslo fall on the International Human Rights Day, celebrated throughout the world. etc etc - long speesh

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General Aung San (Bogyoke Aung San in Burmese) ; February 13, 1915 – July 19, 1947) was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, general, and politician. He was instrumental in bringing about Burma's independence, but was assassinated six months before its final achievement.

He is the father of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

He was born to U Pha, a lawyer, ... in central Burma, then part of British India. His family was already known in the resistance movement, .... He continued his education, after attending schools at Natmauk and Yenangyaung, at Rangoon University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, Modern History, and Political Science. Soon, he was elected to the executive committee of the Rangoon University Students' Union (RUSU). He then became editor of their magazine Owei (Peacock's Call

In February 1936, he was expelled from the university, along with Ko Nu (later Thakin Nu), for refusing to reveal the name of the author of the article Hell Hound At Large, which criticized a senior University official. This led to the second university students' strike, and the university subsequently retracted their expulsion orders. In 1938, Aung San was elected president of both the Rangoon University Students Union (RUSU) and the All-Burma Students Union (ABSU) formed after the strike spread to Mandalay.[1][2] In the same year, the government appointed him as a student representative on the Rangoon University Act Amendment Committee.

Struggle for independence
In October 1938, Aung San moved from student politics to nationalist politics. At this point, he was anti-British, and staunchly anti-imperialist. .... he helped organize a series of countrywide strikes that became known as Htaung thoun ya byei ayeidawbon (the '1300 Revolution', named after the Burmese calendar year). ... forming an alliance between the Dobama, the ABSU, politically active monks and Dr Ba Maw's Sinyètha (Poor Man's) Party, and became its general secretary. .... also became a founding member and first secretary-general of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in August 1939........co-founded the People's Revolutionary Party, renamed the Socialist Party after the Second World War.[2]

....with the help of ... Colonel Suzuki, he founded the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in Bangkok, Thailand (under Japanese occupation at the time).[2] He became chief of staff, and took on the rank of Major-General.[1]

The capital of Burma, Rangoon, fell to the Japanese in March 1942 (as part of the Burma Campaign in World War II), and the Japanese military administration took over the country. In July, Aung San re-organized the BIA as the Burma Defense Army (BDA). He remained its commander in chief—this time as Colonel Aung San.[1] In March 1943, he was once again promoted to the rank of Major-General. Soon afterwards, he was invited to Japan, and was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor.[1]

On August 1, 1943, the Japanese declared Burma to be an independent nation. Aung San was appointed War Minister, and his army was again renamed, this time as the Burma National Army (BNA).[1] His cooperation with the Japanese authorities was to be short-lived: Aung San became skeptical of their promises of true independence and was displeased with their treatment of the Burmese people. He made secret plans to drive the Japanese out of Burma and made contact with the British authorities in India, with the help of Communist leaders Thakin Than Tun and Thakin Soe who had anticipated and warned the independence movement of the more urgent threat of fascism before the Japanese invasion.

On March 27, 1945 he led the BNA in a revolt against the Japanese occupiers and helped the Allies defeat the Japanese.[2] March 27 came to be commemorated as 'Resistance Day' until the military regime later renamed it 'Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) Day'.

[edit] Post-World War II
After the return of the British who had established a military administration, the Anti-Fascist Organisation (AFO), formed in August 1944, was transformed into a united front, comprising the BNA, the Communists and the Socialists, and renamed the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL). ....

then gradually disarmed by the British as the Japanese were driven out of various parts of the country. The Patriotic Burmese Forces, while disbanded, were offered positions in the Burma Army under British command according to the Kandy conference agreement with Lord Mountbatten in Ceylon in September 1945.[2] ...... Aung San was offered the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army, but he declined it in favor of becoming a civilian political leader.[2]

In January 1946, Aung San became the President of the AFPFL following the return of civil government to Burma the previous October. In September, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma by the new British Governor Sir Hubert Rance, and was made responsible for defence and external affairs.[2] Rance and Mountbatten took a very different view from the former British Governor Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, and also Winston Churchill who had called Aung San a 'traitor rebel leader'.[2]

..... Aung San was to all intents and purposes Prime Minister, although he was still subject to a British veto. On January 27, 1947, Aung San and the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee signed an agreement in London guaranteeing Burma's independence within a year - he had been responsible for its negotiation.

[2] During the stopover in Delhi at a press conference, he stated that the Burmese wanted 'complete independence' not dominion status and that they had 'no inhibitions of any kind' about 'contemplating a violent or non-violent struggle or both' in order to achieve this, and concluded that he hoped for the best but he was prepared for the worst.....

Two weeks later, on February 12, 1947, Aung San signed an agreement at the Panglong Conference, with leaders from other national groups, expressing solidarity and support for a united Burma.[2][4] In April, the AFPFL won 196 of 202 seats in the election for a constituent assembly.

Assassination
On July 19, 1947 around 10:37 AM, a gang of armed paramilitaries broke into the Secretariat Building in downtown Rangoon during a meeting of the Executive Council (the shadow government established by the British in preparation for the transfer of power) and assassinated Aung San and six of his cabinet ministers, including his older brother Ba Win. A cabinet secretary and a bodyguard were also killed. The assassination was supposedly carried out on the orders of U Saw, a rival politician, who subsequently was tried and hanged.

However there are aspects of U Saw's trial that give rise to doubt.[5] There were rumours of a conspiracy involving the British - a variation on this theory was given new life in an influential, but sensationalist, documentary broadcast by the BBC on the 50th anniversary of the assassination in 1997.

His Legacy
..........names have been retained. Many towns and cities in Burma have thoroughfares and parks named after him. His portrait was held up everywhere during the 8888 Uprising and used as a rallying point.[2]. Following the 1988 Uprising, the government redesigned the national currency, the kyat, removing his picture and replacing it with scenes of Burmese life. He was only 32 when he died; a martyrs' mausoleum was built at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda, and 19 July was designated Martyr's Day (Azani nei). His place in history as the Father of Burmese Independence and a national hero continues to the present day both due to his own legacy and due to the activities of his daughter.

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Aung San Suu Kyi's essay "Freedom from Fear" was first released for publication to commemorate the European Parliament's awarding to her of the 1990 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The award ceremony took place in her absence at Strasbourg on 10 July 1991.

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....... But their affluence offered them no genuine sense of security or fulfilment, and they could not but see that if they and their fellow citizens, regardless of economic status, were to achieve a worthwhile existence, an accountable administration was at least a necessary if not a sufficient condition. The people of Burma had wearied of a precarious state of passive apprehension where they were 'as water in the cupped hands' of the powers that be.

Emerald cool we may be
As water in cupped hands
But oh that we might be
As splinters of glass
In cupped hands.

Glass splinters, the smallest with its sharp, glinting power to defend itself against hands that try to crush, could be seen as a vivid symbol of the spark of courage that is an essential attribute of those who would free themselves from the grip of oppression.

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http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/assk/sakharovessay.html

The wellspring of courage and endurance in the face of unbridled power is generally a firm belief in the sanctity of ethical principles combined with a historical sense that despite all setbacks the condition of man is set on an ultimate course for both spiritual and material advancement. It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute.

At the root of human responsibility is the concept of perfection, the urge to achieve it, the intelligence to find a path towards it, and the will to follow that path if not to the end at least the distance needed to rise above individual limitations and environmental impediments. It is man's vision of a world fit for rational, civilized humanity which leads him to dare and to suffer to build societies free from want and fear.

Concepts such as truth, justice and compassion cannot be dismissed as trite when these are often the only bulwarks which stand against ruthless power.

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UN envoy still on track to meet Burma's top general
Posted 3 hours 8 minutes ago

UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari is scheduled to meet General Than Swe this afternoon. (File photo) (AFP: Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)
Burma has told UN special envoy Dr Ibrahim Gambari that he can meet the country's senior general this afternoon after being given the run-around by Burmese officials yesterday.

Instead of being taken to see General Than Swe, Dr Gambari was driven nearly 400 kilometres north-east of the regime's isolated administrative capital to attend a workshop on EU-Asian relations.

He was told to come back to Nappyidaw later today if he wanted to see the supreme leader.

Dr Gambari was met by Burma's acting Prime Minister and some junior ministers on Saturday after he arrived but was told Than Swe was not available.

He also met detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that several months ago the Australian Government rejected a military commander as the new Burmese ambassador to Canberra.

A government source says the move was made to show disapproval at the military junta's regime. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says it is a highly unusual step for a government to take.

"We made it clear to the Burmese that under no circumstances were we going to have somebody from their military regime as an ambassador, as a representative here in Australia," he said.

"Normally we would accept, and most countries would accept, the nominee of another government of either side. But in this very rare case we rejected the nomination."

Mr Downer says he is now waiting to see how UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari gets on. "I don't hold out immediate hope for that mission, but I wish him well," he said.

"It's an important mission because it goes with the blessing of the Security Council and the broader international community."

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Burma blames 'political opportunists' for unrest
Posted 2 hours 18 minutes ago

Burma says security forces had to act to restore order. (Reuters)
Video: Burmese monks tell of military repression (Lateline)
Audio: Burma's monks paint grim picture (AM)
Related Story: UN envoy still on track to meet Burma's top general Related Story: Monks flee Burma Burma's Foreign Minister has accused "political opportunists" of trying to create a showdown in his country with foreign help so that they could exploit the ensuing chaos.

In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, U Nyan Win urged the international community to refrain from measures he said would add fuel to the fire.

The Minister told the assembly that following days of demonstrations by Buddhist monks and other pro-democracy supporters, "normalcy" had returned to Burma, which has been ruled for decades by the military.

Mr Win spoke at the annual gathering of world leaders as UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari was set to meet Burma's senior general, Than Shwe, in a bid to persuade the junta to end its crackdown on the biggest pro-democracy protests in 20 years.

"The situation would not have deteriorated had the initial protest of a small group of activists against the rise in fuel prices not been exploited by political opportunists," Mr Win said.

"They sought to turn the situation into a political showdown aided and abetted by some powerful countries," he added, without identifying the countries.

He went on to say security forces had exercised "utmost restraint", but when protesters ignored their warnings "they had to take action to restore the situation" he told the General Assembly.

Mr Win said Burma's Government was determined to lead the country towards a "disciplined democracy", in which a convention that ended last month to set principles for a new constitution had been one step.

The United States called the convention a "total sham".

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Monks flee Burma
By South-East Asia correspondent Karen Percy
Posted 6 hours 42 minutes ago

Monks from Burma say they saw colleagues beaten and killed. (Reuters)
Several Buddhist monks have crossed into neighbouring Thailand from Burma through the town of Mae Sot after fleeing a violent military crackdown.

They left Rangoon three days ago after the military junta ordered raids on monasteries around the capital, rounding up the leaders of recent anti-Government protests.

The monks say they saw their colleagues beaten, even killed, and that they do not want to return to their homeland until the streets are calm again.

But they are determined to help fellow monks and others on the inside to maintain their campaign against the Government.

Despite the ongoing threat of violence, the monks say the protesters will not stop until the military junta lowers fuel prices and frees political prisoners, including the winner of the 1990 election, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being detained by the junta.

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Despite the ongoing threat of violence, the monks say the protesters will not stop until the military junta lowers fuel prices and frees political prisoners, including the winner of the 1990 election, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is being detained by the junta.

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2020hindsight said:

strange that the price of fuel keeps being mentioned - I'm sure the freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi comes before the price at the bowser

You wonder what they need the fuel for ?

- such a horribly sad image - but does anyone else remember the Buddhist monks setting fire to themselves in the Vietnam days. ?

such beautiful people.

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