particularly, our
role in the world. Respect for human life is declining;
the terrorists are one side killing hundreds and the
civilized nations on the other hand killing millions. This
has to stop for our own good.We still have dictatorships, monarchies, fascists, communist and theocracies around. Shouldn't we declare a war on ignorance? Shouldn't we spend the money on education rather than destruction? US can be a real winner for another century if we do not blow our monies on war and destruction and instead win the world by doing good in the long haul, our win sustains our influence and creates new customers for our products. Isn't it is the right thing to do? I hope our next president would be smart. We should be supporting, encouraging and funding democracies and the education that goes with it.
What is happening in Burma is sad, the sparkle of goodness is that the Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others are standing by in the support of the Monks. The least we can do is sign a petition of support.
India's silence is short-sighted. They do not want to upset the rogue regimes who are suppressing the freedom movement of the people, they want to keep those business contract intact. It sounds like the logical thing to do, but it is not. One of these days, there will be a government of the people in Burma, at that time they would not look favorably to India and look elsewhere. We lose both business and on moral grounds. We have to support all freedom movements, those business extremists may lose in the short run, but in the long haul every one wins. America has made this mistake over and over again, India needs to learn this or would they copy cat?
For current updates: http://mikeghouse.blogspot.com/2007/09/stand-with-burmese-people.html
Beyond Rangoon:
Stories Beneath the Surface of Myanmar Reporting
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/
As all eyes turn to Myanmar with brutal crackdowns by the
military junta (including reports of a Japanese reporter
murdered and school children being fired upon),
international condemnations, speculation of a "saffron
revolution," and China caught between a policy of
noninterference and brutal crackdown on its borders that
could turn into a public relations disaster, there are
stories at the micro-political level that deserve to be
highlighted for the inspiration they might offer.
First, the role that technology has played in both
mobilizing and broadcasting this information to the rest
of the world through cell phones and the internet. News
reports abound on the process of gathering reports in
Myanmar as much as the actual reports of the brutal
crackdowns by the military junta. The Democratic Voice of
Burma has been praised for its role at the helm of
collecting, hosting, and distributing information from the
myriad of reports electronically smuggled out of the
country. Despite the internet crackdown which The New York
Times The Lede is reporting on, information is still
appears to be making its way through to Blogs like Global
Voices and the Cbox aggregator of on-the-ground reports.
Just like the protests against a chemical plant organized
by text messages in China a few months ago, this is not
the story of technological triumphalism, but rather, of
little victories that are applying pressures and
compelling governments and international actors to move in
certain, sometimes constructive ways.
The second story that needs be told (and I hope gets
reported on more) is the bonds of solidarity formed
between the monks and local residents. The lead editorial
of the Asahi Shimbun reads:
Sharp increases in the prices of gasoline and other items
on Aug. 15 sparked the demonstrations. The price hikes
caused bus fares and other fees to soar, hitting the
pocketbooks of ordinary citizens. Monks who rely on alms
stood up in protest on behalf of the citizens. (...)
In Myanmar, it is customary for men to enter the
priesthood at least once during their lifetime. As writer
Michio Takeyama (1903-1984) described in his novel "Biruma
no Tategoto" (The Harp of Burma), Buddhism is the
spiritual mainstay of the people. The fact that monks, who
distance themselves from mundane affairs, stood up in
protest shows just how precarious everyday civilian life
has become.
In return, DVB is reporting that local residents of all
religions have been defending Bhuddist monks and thwarting
attacks on monasteries, which have been targeted by the
military:
In Rangoon, troops encountered resistance from local
residents as they approached Sasana Alin Yaung, Sanana
Wuntha and Min Nanda monasteries in Daw Pon and Tharkayta
townships.
At Min Nanda monastery, which backs on to Pazuntaung
creek, troops tried to approach from both land and water
but retreated when they saw the strength of local
resistance.
"There were not only Buddhist people but also Muslims,
Christians and Hindus defending the monasteries," said a
resident of Tharkayta township.
A similar story has been played out in other townships in
Burma, as residents take action to resist government raids
on monasteries.
Despite the much ballyhooed cedar, rose, and orange
revolutions that turned out to be far more complex power
struggles rather than purely democratic revolutions, there
appears to be something qualitatively different about what
is happening in Myanmar right now -- a much more organic
galvanization of the population -- though I think we lack
sufficient information to substantiate it. Nevertheless,
the accounts above should provide sufficient cause to hope
that a new social contract will arise out the battle
unfolding in the country.
--Sameer Lalwani
Mystery surrounds the generals’ absence from yesterday’s talks
Ibrahim Gambari, UN special envoy, was due to make a second attempt today to meet Burma's two top junta generals, Than Shwe and his deputy, Maung Aye, who avoided a meeting yesterday in their remote, sealed-off capital, Naypyidaw, on Sunday. No reason was given for their absence, writes Edward Loxton.
"Than Shwe and Maung Aye have been accused of snubbing Gambari, the United Nations and the world community, but it could be more complicated than that," said one prominent exile leader, who requested anonymity.
Mystery surrounds the generals’ absence from yesterday’s talks, writes edward loxton
Ibrahim Gambari, UN special envoy, was due to make a second attempt today to meet Burma's two top junta generals, Than Shwe and his deputy, Maung Aye, who avoided a meeting yesterday in their remote, sealed-off capital, Naypyidaw, on Sunday. No reason was given for their absence.
"Than Shwe and Maung Aye have been accused of snubbing Gambari, the United Nations and the world community, but it could be more complicated than that," said one prominent exile leader, who requested anonymity.
"Look at it this way: if there is disagreement between Than Shwe and Maung Aye over how to handle the crisis, the appearance of one or the other at a vital meeting with Gambari would send important signals.
"If Than Shwe appears alone, Maung Aye is out of the picture and Burma descends into deeper disorder and even greater isolation. If Maung Aye appears alone, Than Shwe has been deposed and a newer, more pragmatic policy could emerge."
The UN has indicated that Gambari will insist on staying in Burma until he has seen the two men. He met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a government guesthouse in Rangoon on Sunday, but no details have emerged of their 90-minute encounter.
Reports hardened today that the army's divisional commanders of Rangoon and Mandalay have been sacked because of their opposition to the use of force on anti-government protesters, particularly monks.
"There's clearly dissatisfaction at the effect the bloodshed will have on Burma's image," said the exile leader. "We are hoping that the dissatisfaction will spread through army ranks and lead to the overthrow of Than Shwe."
Rangoon and other cities were relatively quiet this morning. Thousands of troops were deployed around most monasteries, where monks were virtually being held prisoner.
Burma is closed to foreign reporters. Edward Loxton is reporting for The First Post from Chiang Mai in neighbouring Thailand.
Burma’s two junta leaders, General Than Shwe and his deputy, General Maung Aye, both snubbed UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari when he flew to their sealed-off capital, Naypyidaw, today for talks to solve the crisis now shaking the country, writes Edward Loxton from Thailand.Observers said the absence of the two leaders from talks Gambari held with lower-ranking military officers did not necessarily represent evidence of a split in the regime. “It’s a snub,” said Burma expert Bertil Lintner, author of several books on the country. “The regime is showing its utter disdain for international opinion.”
Gambari also met in Rangoon with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taken from her home, where she has spent a total of 11 years under house arrest, to a government guesthouse for the encounter. No details emerged on their talks.Meanwhile, a Burmese businesswoman back in Thailand from a visit to her parents in Mandalay, said it was rumoured that two key generals, including Mandalay’s commander, Kin Zaw, and a Rangoon divisional commander, Hla Htay Oo, had been relieved of their duties. Both were said to have opposed the use of force against monks.In continuing raids on the country’s Bhuddist monks, troops stormed several waterside monasteries from naval vessels patrolling the Rangoon River. “The violence and the looting is on a dreadful scale,” said one resident. “Troops are breaking their way in and lashing out indiscriminately. It’s a bloodbath. When is the world going to act to stop it?”
India's Burma Silence
That's a long way from the days when India backed the pro-democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi, the celebrated opposition leader who, in 1993, Delhi awarded the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award. Within years, India had begun wooing Burma's junta, a relationship publicly cemented when strongman Than Shwe visited India in 2004.
Delhi's strategy is threefold. Its initial overtures to Burma's military leaders came as India faced a growing insurgency in its northeast. Many of the rebel groups in that region are based and train across the border in Burma. As India has grown friendlier with Burma's generals the two countries have worked together — with some limited success — on eradicating the northeastern insurgents.
Will such a stance hurt India's democratic credentials? India's former Defense Minister George Fernandez, a longtime supporter of Burmese democracy activists, thinks so, calling such quiet diplomacy "disgusting." "This government is not concerned with what is happening in its own neighborhood," he says. In one of the few Indian newspaper opinion pieces to question India's stance Karan Thapar asked in the Hindustan Times last week whether a "Cat got our tongue?" "Indian democracy has shrunk because of its unwillingness to speak out," he wrote.
But don't expect to hear Delhi start shouting any time soon. "We have already reacted with a statement and that's all we have to say," an Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman told TIME two days after his minister's only four sentences on the crisis. "We are monitoring the situation and if the situation develops we will act appropriately. But I can't get as to when."
