OVER THE EDGE October 10-14, 2007 March of | The only way you’ re gonna the Monks ° Calls for Democracy in Myanmar Sees Hundreds of Thousands Take to the _ Streets Copy WitLerr Eorror in CHier Call the country Burma, or call it My- anmar. Call the capital Rangoon, or call it Yangon. What matters is that you rec- ognize the power of peaceful protest. After the military government raised fuel prices dramatically, causing economic hardship, small groups of protesters took to the streets starting on August 19th. Although beaten, intimidated and jailed - by authorities, they succeeded in inspir- ing the nation’s well respected Buddhist - monks to join the cause for freedom. Soon upwards of 10 000 monks found themselves leading crowds that some pegged at between 50 000 to 100 000 strong. Marching from the famous gold- en Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, these protesters wound their way through the capital for hours, praying for the victory of peace, love and democracy. Eventu- ally they made their way to the house where Nobel Peace Prize winner, demo- cratic movement figurehead and winner of Myanmar’s 1990 parliamentary elec- tions, Aung San Suu Kyi lives under house arrest. After gaining notoriety during Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy demonstrations, Suy Kyi headed the National League for Democracy party, but after her party’s landslide victory in 1990 they were prevented from forming government by the ruling military junta. Riot police with shotguns and cameras barricaded the street where Suu Kyi lives after demonstrators tried to gain access to their symbolic leader. Even- tually, some were allowed closer to the residence, where Suu Kyi greeted them in her first public appearance since be- ing detained 4 years ago. This greeting is said to have linked recent protests all over Myanmar to the 1988 uprising. x However, whereas government for- ces killed thousands of protesters when they opened fire on crowds in 1988, the presence of the country’s revered monks and pressure from neighbouring China kept most violent military reac- tions at bay. Nevertheless, Myanmar’s borders and communication channels have been closed to foreign journalists, after a Japanese photographer was killed in the violence that followed the seal- ing and barricade of monasteries around the nation. Official death tolls estimate several protesters died in clashes with the military, yet unconfirmed reports of many more deaths continue to trickle from refugees fleeing to Thailand. There has also been word of military personnel rounding up protest leaders and monks based on photos taken during the march- es, and sending them to prisons located near Myanmar's northern borders. Responding to calls for international attention and response to this ongoing struggle, US President George W. Bush imposed economic sanctions on top military leaders, augmenting travel and arms sales restrictions first imposed in 1996. Speaking to the UN General As- sembly in New York, Bush reiterated his crusade for democracy, saying “Amer- icans are outraged by the situation in Burma... The people of Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have asked for our help, and every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand with them, every civilized nation also has a resporisibil- ity to stand up for the people suffering under dictatorship.” Although it remains to be seen exactly how the world com- munity will stand up for the monks and demonstrators in Myanmar, at least the news of beatings, jailings and killings in the wake of this month’s protest will be met with further denunciatory rhetoric from other world leaders. 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