Blog Entry 5 (Myanmar Crackdown on Monks)

Sep 26, 2007
Myanmar protesters disperse after crackdown, at least 4 killed


Security forces form a barricade after closing the eastern gate of the Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

YANGON - TENS of thousands of anti-government protesters dispersed in Yangon after six hours of marches Wednesday in which at least four people were killed - three of them monks - in a crackdown by security forces.

About 200 protesters have been arrested, said witnesses.

The protests, including thousands of monks, spread through the city and were met by soldiers and riot police who responded with teargas and warning shots fired over the crowd, witnesses said.

Based on witness accounts compiled from around Yangon, as many as 100,000 people took to the streets, with civilians far outnumbering the Buddhist monks who have spearheaded the movement.

The protesters took to the streets in defiance of a ban on gatherings and stern threats from the junta.

At least four people, including three Buddhist monks, were killed in the crackdown by soldiers and police, according to Myanmar officials and hospital sources.

About 200 people, as many as half of them Buddhist monks, were arrested, witnesses and diplomats said. One western diplomat said that at least 100 Buddhist monks were among the arrests.

Buddhist monks have led nine straight days of demonstrations in Yangon and other cities around the country, but Wednesday was the first day that security forces tried to violently break up the crowds.

At least 17 monks were injured, witnesses said. All 17 were injured around midday when police baton-charged a group of monks and mainly young protesters near the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest shrine, the witnesses said.

Among the wounded was an 80-year-old monk who witnesses said was beaten about the head by security forces. The elderly monk has participated in the daily anti-junta protests in Yangon although he cannot walk and has to be carried.

Hospital officials have refused to comment on any injuries stemming from the crackdown.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party said onWednesday Myanmar’s military regime had committed 'the greatest, irreparable wrong in history' by beating Buddhist monks.

The civilian crowd near the Sule Pagoda, end point of monk-led protest marches this week, was awaiting the arrival of a procession of an estimated 10,000 Buddhist monks and civilians, a witness said.

Security forces also fired tear gas at columns of monks trying to push their way through barricades sealing off the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest Buddhist shrine and the starting point of the mass marches against decades of military rule.

As many as 200 maroon-robed monks were arrested outside the gilded shrine at the heart of the former Burma's main city, monks said.

Despite the presence at key locations of police and soldiers armed with rifles, batons and shields, the procession of 10,000 monks and civilians marched towards the Sule Pagoda, witnesses said.

Their numbers swelled as they headed towards the temple, scene of some of the worst bloodshed when troops opened fire on protesters in 1988, killing an estimated 3,000 in the ruthless crushing of the last major uprising.

Many of the monks wore surgical masks to try to counteract the effects of tear gas, one witness said.

Witnesses and monks said some of the deeply revered Buddhist clergy were beaten and manhandled by riot police as they were taken away from the Shwedagon, action which could inflame public anger against the military, which has been in charge since 1962.

Activist arrested
A comedian famed for his anti-government jibes became the first well-known activist rounded up following the protests.

Zarganar, who uses only one name, was taken away from his home overnight by authorities shortly after midnight. His family members said on Wednesday that they were told he had been 'called in for temporary questioning.'

Along with actor Kyaw Thu and poet Aung Way, Zarganar led a committee that provided food and other necessities to the monks who have spearheaded the protests. He had earlier been imprisoned twice and his comedy routines were banned for their satirical jokes about the regime.

The fates of the actor and poet were not immediately known, but there were unconfirmed reports from dissident groups of more than half a dozen other arrests.

Myanmar's leaders warned monks to stop the protests after some 100,000 people joined marches in the country's biggest city, Yangon, on Monday in the largest anti-government demonstrations since a 1988 pro-democracy uprising was violently suppressed.

The junta imposed the 9pm-to-5am curfew and ban on public assembly after 35,000 people monks and their supporters defied the warnings to stage another day of protests on Tuesday.

The junta has not used force so far to stop the demonstrations.

But troops in full battle gear and police swarmed around Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda and Mahamuni Paya Pagoda, among the most sacred sites in the country.

Mandalay
In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, more than 100 soldiers armed with assault rifles were deployed around the Mahamuni Paya Pagoda, erecting a barricade and barbed wire at the gate from which monks had marched out to protest.

Five military trucks were seen inside the monastery compound, while other soldiers were stationed along the road into the fabled city of temples and palaces.

'We are so afraid, the soldiers are ready to fire on civilians at any time,' a man near the pagoda said, asking that his name not be used for fear of reprisals.

If the military responds to new protests with force, it could further isolate Myanmar from the international community. It would almost certainly put pressure on Myanmar's top economic and diplomatic supporter, China, which is eager to burnish its international image before next year's Olympics in Beijing.

If monks who are leading the protests are mistreated, that could outrage the predominantly Buddhist country, where clerics are revered. But if the junta backs down, it risks appearing weak and emboldening protesters, which could escalate the tension.

When faced with a similar crisis in 1988, the government harshly suppressed a student-led democracy uprising. Security forces fired into crowds of peaceful demonstrators and killed thousands, traumatizing the nation.

Call for peace
Foreign governments and religious leaders have urged the junta to deal peacefully with the situation. They included the Dalai Lama and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates like detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

US sanctions
US President George W. Bush announced new sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, accusing the military dictatorship of imposing 'a 19-year reign of fear' that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.

President Bush said the US would tighten economic sanctions on leaders of the regime and their financial backers, and impose an expanded visa ban on those responsible for human rights violations and their families.

Britain warns junta
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged restraint from Myanmar authorities on Wednesday, warning the 'extremely repressive' regime it would be held accountable for its actions.

'The world does want restraint, and it will hold the regime accountable for any actions,' said Mr Miliband after the military junta moved to crush the mass rallies that have erupted nationwide.

EU threatens sanctions
The European Union also threatened to strengthen existing sanctions against the regime if it uses violence to put down the demonstrations.

Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning, met Tuesday with some of Myanmar's leaders, urging continued restraint. Canning said he told ministers that the 'demonstrations have been peaceful and well-disciplined'.

'It will be disastrous in the eyes of the world on Myanmar if the authorities use force,' he told them, saying that they assured him the situation would be handled with caution.

M'sia opposes sanctions
Malaysia opposes the imposition of economic sanctions on Myanmar as they would hurt the ordinary people, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

Mr Syed Hamid, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said sanctions would not affect the military junta but usually hurt ordinary citizens more.

'Any hard or aggressive action would be counter-productive at this stage,' he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency. 'We think the best way of resolving the issue is to get the constitutional process on track, to get the reconciliation going.' -- AP, AFP, REUTERS




Responses:


I visited Myanmar in early 2003. The people are friendly and hospitable. They deserve a better government, one that will bring them some decency into their lives. Let us also not forget that the military Junta are an illegal governemnt. The government of Singapore are in a unique position, holding the Chair of ASEAN, and can bear diplomatic pressure to end this illegal rule peacefully. Alas, but there are vested interests that may impinge on any hope of true change. The Singapore government has built up substantial clout with the Junta. We have built cyberwarfare schools for the Junta which they use to intimidate their own population and we have substantial financial links with the Junta. A lot of their monies are in our banks. A walk down central Yangon, you will see many old comfort taxi cabs being used by ordinary Burmese.

With George Bush's announcement of targeted sanctions against the Junta and those that help them, would it mean that Singapore might be on the list to receive those sanctions?

It is very sad that ASEAN is not doing anything! ASEAN seems to see BUrma as just another businees opporunity. Sinagpore included. Singapore by setting up business dealings with the junta is supporting the burmese militrary and condoning the gross human rights abuses occuring at this very moment in Burma. Do we not care what happens to our neighbours? Is life all about accumulating wealth? It is a very sad materialistic society that is Singapore that we live in today.

I think it is deplorable that a country like ours has got dealings with the Junta. We should use any influence we have to redeem our international standing and urge the Junta to reliquish power back to the people of Burma and not use economic rationalism as an excuse over the sovereignty of a moral cause!