Burma conflict: background information (BBC)

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Q&A: Protests in Burma

As demonstrations in Burma continue to gather pace, the BBC looks at what triggered the protests, who is involved and what they could mean for the country's military leaders.

What sparked the protests?

On 15 August the government decided to increase the price of fuel. Both petrol and diesel doubled in price, while the cost of compressed gas - used to power buses - increased five-fold.

The hikes hit Burma's people hard, forcing up the price of public transport and triggering a knock-on effect for staples such as rice and cooking oil.

Burmese people are angry about the sudden fuel price increase
Pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstrations in Burma's main city, Rangoon. When about 400 people marched on 19 August, it was the largest demonstration in the military-ruled nation for several years.

The authorities moved swiftly to quell the protests, rapidly arresting dozens of activists. Nonetheless, protests continued around the country. Numbers were small, but demonstrations were held in Rangoon, Sittwe and other towns.

Why are monks involved?

The monks started participating in large numbers after troops used force to break up a peaceful rally in the central town of Pakokku on 5 September.

At least three monks were hurt. The next day, monks in Pakokku briefly took government officials hostage. They gave the government until 17 September to apologise, but no apology was forthcoming.

When the deadline expired, the monks began to protest in much greater numbers and also withdrew their religious services from the military and their families.

There have been protests every day since the deadline, both in Rangoon and elsewhere, and they are getting bigger by the day. Tens of thousands of monks are now involved.

More and more Buddhist monks have been joining the marches
The participation of the monks is significant because there are hundreds of thousands of them and they are highly revered. The clergy has historically been prominent in political protests in Burma.

Because of the clergy's influence, the government has tried hard to woo many senior abbots. The fact that these abbots have chosen to remain silent is a sign for many people that they condone the protests.

Analysts believe that any violence against the monks could trigger a national uprising.

What has the government done about it?

At first, the country's military leaders held back, letting the protests continue.

But on Monday they said they were ready to "take action".

By late Tuesday, troops and riot police began to arrive in Rangoon, and a dawn-to-dusk curfew was introduced.

On Wednesday violence broke out at the Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon's holiest shrine, as police used baton charges and tear gas to try to stop monks embarking on a ninth day of protests.

Further clases are being reported on Thursday.

Are the protests still about an apology?

For some of the monks, yes. But for others, it has now gone far beyond that.

A group called the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks has emerged to co-ordinate the protests, and on 21 September it issued a statement describing the military government as "the enemy of the people".

They pledged to continue their protests until they had "wiped the military dictatorship from the land of Burma", and they have called on people across Burma to join them.

One rally marched past the house of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, clearly linking the monks' movement with a desire for a change of government.

Are others joining in?

In the initial days of the protests, the public did not appear to be involved - commentators suggested that they were too scared of retaliation.

But this has gradually changed as the demonstrations have grown in size.

Footage of one protest showed people lining the route as the monks marched, forming a chain to protect them from any retaliation from soldiers.

Aung San Suu Kyi was able to greet the monks over the weekend
And on 24 September, thousands of people responded to a call from the monks and joined a massive protest in Rangoon.

Key members of the opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) are now said to be joining the protests, after initially distancing themselves from the action.

When did Burma last see protests like these?

The last time Burma saw anything on this scale was during the popular uprising of August 1988.

These protests were triggered by the government's decision in 1987 to devalue the currency, wiping out many people's savings.

Demonstrations began among students and then gradually spread to monks and the public. These culminated in a national uprising on 8 August 1988, when hundreds of thousands of people marched to demand a change of government.

The government sent troops to brutally suppress the protests. At least 3,000 people are believed to have died.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7010202.stm

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Should it be Burma or Myanmar?

The eyes of the world's media are focused on Rangoon, where tensions are rising in the streets, yet news organisations and nations differ in what they call the country.

The ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, a year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising. Rangoon also became Yangon.

THE ANSWER

It's known as Myanmar in many countries and at the UN
But the UK doesn't recognise the legitimacy of the regime that changed the name
The Adaptation of Expression Law also introduced English language names for other towns, some of which were not ethnically Burmese.

The change was recognised by the United Nations, and by countries such as France and Japan, but not by the United States and the UK.

A statement by the Foreign Office says: "Burma's democracy movement prefers the form 'Burma' because they do not accept the legitimacy of the unelected military regime to change the official name of the country. Internationally, both names are recognised."

It's general practice at the BBC to refer to the country as Burma, and the BBC News website says this is because most of its audience is familiar with that name rather than Myanmar.

But look in a Lonely Planet guidebook to Asia and the country can be found listed after Mongolia, not Brunei. The Rough Guide does not cover Burma at all, because the pro-democracy movement has called for a tourism boycott.

HOW IS MYANMAR PRONOUNCED?
There are various ways
'My' may be 'mee' as in 'street' or 'my' as in 'cry'
And stress can be on the first, second or third syllable

So does the choice of Burma or Myanmar indicate a particular political position?

Mark Farmener, of Burma Campaign UK, says: "Often you can tell where someone's sympathies lie if they use Burma or Myanmar. Myanmar is a kind of indicator of countries that are soft on the regime.

"But really it's not important. Who cares what people call the country? It's the human rights abuses that matter.

"There's not a really strong call from the democracy movement saying you should not call it Myanmar, they just challenge the legitimacy of the regime. It's probable it will carry on being called Myanmar after the regime is gone."

Colloquial name

The two words mean the same thing and one is derived from the other. Burmah, as it was spelt in the 19th Century, is a local corruption of the word Myanmar.

They have both been used within Burma for a long time, says anthropologist Gustaaf Houtman, who has written extensively about Burmese politics.

"There's a formal term which is Myanmar and the informal, everyday term which is Burma. Myanmar is the literary form, which is ceremonial and official and reeks of government. [The name change] is a form of censorship."

If Burmese people are writing for publication, they use 'Myanmar', but speaking they use 'Burma', he says.

This reflects the regime's attempt to impose the notion that literary language is master, Mr Houtman says, but there is definitely a political background to it.

Richard Coates, a linguist at the University of Western England, says adopting the traditional, formal name is an attempt by the junta to break from the colonial past.

The UN uses Myanmar, presumably deferring to the idea that its members can call themselves what they wish

Richard Coates, Linguist
"Local opposition groups do not accept that, and presumably prefer to use the 'old' colloquial name, at least until they have a government with popular legitimacy. Governments that agree with this stance still call the country Burma.

"The UN uses Myanmar, presumably deferring to the idea that its members can call themselves what they wish, provided the decision is recorded in UN proceedings. There are hosts of papers detailing such changes. I think the EU uses Burma/Myanmar."

Other countries to rename themselves like this include Iran (formerly Persia), Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) and Cambodia (Kampuchea).

"They've substituted a local name for an internationally acknowledged one for essentially nationalistic and historical reasons."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7013943.stm

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Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Like the South African leader Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi has become an international symbol of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.
For the Burmese people, Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, represents their best and perhaps sole hope that one day there will be an end to the country's military repression.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38856000/jpg/_38856823_suukyi_bbc_203.jpg

As a pro-democracy campaigner and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy party ( NLD), she has spent more than 11 of the past 18 years in some form of detention under Burma's military regime.

In 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to bring democracy to Burma.

At the presentation, the Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Francis Sejested, called her "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

After a period of time overseas, Aung San Suu Kyi went back to Burma in 1988.

House arrest

Soon after she returned, she was put under house arrest in Rangoon for six years, until she was released in July 1995.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI
1989: Put under house arrest as Burma's leaders declare martial law
1990: National League for Democracy (NLD) wins general election; military does not recognise the result
1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
2000-02: Second period of house arrest
May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and government forces
Sep 2003: Allowed home after medical treatment, but under effective house arrest

She was again put under house arrest in September 2000, when she tried to travel to the city of Mandalay in defiance of travel restrictions.

She was released unconditionally in May 2002, but just over a year later she was put in prison following a clash between her supporters and a government-backed mob.

Following a gynaecological operation in September 2003, she was allowed to return home - but again under effective house arrest.

During these periods of confinement, Aung San Suu Kyi has busied herself studying and exercising.

She has meditated, worked on her French and Japanese language skills, and relaxed by playing Bach on the piano.

In more recent years, she has also been able to meet other NLD officials, and selected visiting diplomats like the United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail.

But during her early years of detention, Aung San Suu Kyi was often in solitary confinement - and was not even allowed to see her two sons or her husband, the British academic Michael Aris.

In March 1999 she suffered a major personal tragedy when her husband died of cancer.

The military authorities offered to allow her to travel to the UK to see him on his deathbed, but she felt compelled to refuse for fear she would not be allowed back into the country.

Aung San Suu Kyi has often said that detention has made her even more resolute to dedicate the rest of her life to represent the average Burmese citizen.

The UN envoy Razali Ismail has said privately that she is one of the most impressive people he has ever met.

Overseas life

Much of Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal within Burma lies in the fact she is the daughter of the country's independence hero General Aung San.

He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence.

Aung San Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time.

In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Burma's ambassador to Delhi.

Four years later she went to Oxford University in the UK, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics. There she met her future husband.

After stints of living and working in Japan and Bhutan, she settled down to be an English don's housewife and raise their two children, Alexander and Kim.

Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991
But Burma was never far away from her thoughts.

When she arrived back in Rangoon in 1988 - initially to look after her critically ill mother - Burma was in the midst of major political upheaval.

Thousands of students, office workers and monks took to the streets demanding democratic reform.

"I could not, as my father's daughter remain indifferent to all that was going on," she said in a speech in Rangoon on 26 August 1988.

Aung San Suu Kyi was soon propelled into leading the revolt against then-dictator General Ne Win.

Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi, she organised rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.

But the demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the army, who seized power in a coup on 18 September 1988.

The military government called national elections in May 1990.

Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD convincingly won the polls, despite the fact that she herself was under house arrest and disqualified from standing.

But the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1950505.stm

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Burma's hardline generals

Burma has been ruled by a repressive military junta for the last decade and a half, prompting economic stagnation and international condemnation.
The junta has been led by three generals wielding almost absolute power. But in-fighting and a lack of transparency have generated regular rumours of power struggles at the top.

Than Shwe

Senior General Than Shwe, 73, is the head of the ruling junta and controls the army.

He is the most hard-line leader, strongly opposed to allowing any political role for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

After working in the Burmese postal service, Than Shwe joined the army at the age of 20 and his career included a stint in the department of psychological warfare.

He has acted as Burma's head of state since 1992, and was initially seen as more relaxed than his predecessor, General Saw Maung. Some political prisoners have been released, and human rights groups were allowed to visit Burma.

But he continues to suppress all dissent, and oversaw the re-arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2003.

Rumours of his poor health are common, and were fuelled in January 2007 when he was admitted to a hospital in Singapore for two weeks - missing an Independence Day dinner for military leaders and officials.

But reports that he may be suffering from intestinal cancer have not been substantiated.

Not normally seen in public, a rare glimpse of his lavish lifestyle came in November 2006 when a video of his daughter's wedding appeared on the internet.

It showed the bride draped in expensive looking jewels, pouring out large quantities of champagne beside an ornate, golden bridal bed. The footage sparked outrage from Burmese watchers.

Than Shwe is said to be superstitious and regularly seeks the advice of astrologers.

Maung Aye

Maung Aye is also a career soldier and the second most powerful man in the country.

He is believed to have established strong ties with Burma's many drug lords in the Golden Triangle while operating as a colonel in the late 1970s and 80s, before he joined the military leadership in 1993.

He has a reputation for ruthlessness and xenophobia, and is also staunchly opposed to allowing Aung San Suu Kyi any future role.

He is also rumoured to be a hard drinker.

Soe Win

Lieutenant General Soe Win, 58, is seen a hard-line operator with close links to Than Shwe. He succeeded Khin Nyunt as prime minister in 2004.

Some diplomats and dissidents believe that, as a key figure in the Union Solidarity and Development Association - the civilian wing of the junta - he was behind a bloody attack on Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy in the north of the country last year, which led to the opposition leader being taken back into house arrest.

Earlier in his career, he commanded an infantry division which helped crush the democracy party in 1988 following Aung San Suu Kyi's overwhelming victory in national elections.

He joined the Defence Service Academy in 1965, and quickly worked his way up through the military ranks.

He joined the junta in 1997, and was appointed as Secretary-2 of the council in February 2003, and Secretary-1 in August of the same year, replacing Khin Nyunt, who became prime minister.

He is believed to be in poor health, with reports that he is suffering from leukaemia. He has been attending the same hospital in Singapore that Than Shwe visited in January.

Soe Win was replaced temporarily by Lt Gen Thein Sein, who ranks fifth in the military, in May. However, the Burmese authorities would not confirm his illness.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3755684.stm

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and from what i read on yahoo news this morning, (it's probably just ap or reuters of course) myanmar's internet access has been blocked.

can you imagine, an entire country without internet all of a sudden? this of course will make it a lot more difficult to get anything but the official story. maybe indymedia can get out there and back out. who knows?

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Burma's 1988 protests

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44137000/jpg/_44137407_victims88_ap203.jpg

Activists estimate some 3,000 people died during the crackdown

The mounting protests in Burma have drawn comparisons with the last time the ruling military junta faced a major challenge, in 1988. The BBC News website looks at the background to those events, which ended in a bloody crackdown.

In September 1987, Burma's then ruler General Ne Win compounded years of general economic mismanagement by suddenly cancelling certain currency notes.

As a superstitious man, he wanted only 45 and 90 kyat notes in circulation. This was because they were divisible by nine, which he considered a lucky number.

But by cancelling the other notes which people held, much of their savings were wiped out overnight.

Protests about the mounting economic crisis were started by Burma's students, especially in Rangoon.

On 13 March 1988 students protesting outside the Rangoon Institute of Technology clashed with the military and Phone Maw, a fourth year engineering student, was shot dead.

'8-8-88'

His death triggered further protests, which gathered pace as the students were joined by ordinary citizens and Burma's much revered monks.

On 8 August 1988 - known as 8-8-88 - hundreds of thousands of people took part in protests across the country, calling for democracy.

Tom White, the British cultural attaché stationed in Rangoon at the time, has told the BBC how the general strike, spearheaded by students and monks, was accompanied by a mood of euphoria.

"The streets resounded with the chant (in Burmese) 'We want full democracy; that's what we want'", Mr White said.

Like the protesters of the last few days, students sported their symbol of the fighting peacock, and monks carried their alms bowls upside down to show they would not accept handouts from the military, again as a protest.

On 26 August, Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Aung San who had only recently returned to Burma to nurse her sick mother, made a speech at Shwedagon Pagoda and became the public face of the democracy movement.

General Ne Win had resigned as party leader in late July, but warned that "when the army shoots, it shoots straight".

On 18 September, the army proved the general right.

Soldiers sprayed automatic rifle fire into crowds of protesters. Other demonstrators were carried away in trucks and never seen again.

Human rights groups say at least 3,000 people were killed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7012158.stm

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Who are Burma's monks?
By Sarah Buckley
BBC News

Monks command such respect in Burma because some 80-90% of the country's population is Buddhist, and even those who do not choose to become a "career monk" usually enter the orders for short periods of their lives, giving the monasteries a prominent role in society.

There is a monastery in every village, according to Myint Swe of the BBC Burmese service, and monks act as the spiritual leaders of that community.

They give religious guidance and perform important duties at weddings and funerals. .................

BUDDHISM
Buddhism is non-violent, non-dogmatic and meditative
Not centred on a god
Aimed at gaining insight into life's true nature
There are two schools. One of them, Theravada (S, SE Asia), focuses on freedom from craving and suffering
The other, Mahayana (NE Asia), emphasises helping others achieve that freedom
Burmese observe the Theravada school

...........Burmese monks not only play a spiritual role, but also have a history of political activism. They have been at the forefront of protest against unpopular authorities, from British colonial power in the 1930s to the last pro-democracy campaign in 1988.

Their political role stems from the days of the Burmese monarchy, which operated until the late 19th century, under which monks worked as intermediaries between the monarch and the public, and lobbied the king over unpopular moves such as heavy taxation, said Mr Aung Kin.

They became more confrontational during colonial times, in protest at the failure of foreigners to remove their shoes in pagodas, he said.

But the historian stressed that only about 10% of Burma's monks are politicised, and many of the monasteries may be unaware of the scale of the agitation currently under way in the country.

If fully mobilised, however, the monks would pose a major challenge to the military, and their moral position in society could embolden many more people to join the protests.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7014173.stm

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Msolga--

Excellent briefing. Thank you.

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Thank the BBC, Noddy! Smile

BTW lots more interesting & detailed information can be found through the links.

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MsO - THANK YOU!!!!! I've been meaning to do some of this type of research myself.

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China's crucial role in Burma crisis
By Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic correspondent, BBC News, New York

This year's session of the UN General Assembly has been overshadowed by the worsening political crisis in Burma.
It figured prominently in the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's opening speech.

US President George Bush announced a tightening of US economic sanctions and a ministerial meeting involving the Americans and the 27 European Union countries called for UN Security Council action.

An informal gathering of the Security Council ensued.

It heard a briefing on the crisis from Ban Ki-moon's special representative or envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, just before he left for the region, urgently despatched by the secretary general, in the hope that he can get into Burma and speak to all sides.

But apart from registering concern and displeasure it is hard to see what practical impact these steps will have.

Chinese influence

The US and the EU have long imposed a variety of sanctions against Burma's military regime but, paradoxically, this means that they have relatively few levers to pull to influence Rangoon.

The countries that matter more to Burma are India and Russia; both of whom have trading relations with the military regime.

Russia even plans to sell Burma a nuclear research reactor.

But it is Burma's biggest neighbour, China, that plays the most crucial role, and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council it can help to limit the relative isolation that the Rangoon regime faces.

China's UN ambassador said sanctions would not be helpful
Both China and Russia, for that matter, vetoed a UN Security Council resolution last January that was critical of Burma's rulers.

China has key strategic interests in the stability of Burma and accordingly strong ties with Rangoon.

This has prompted the Indian government to seek stronger ties of its own with Burma's military regime in order to counter-balance China's growing influence.

Energy resources

It is Burma's energy resources - oil and off-shore gas fields - that make it such an attractive partner for Russian, Chinese, Indian and even South Korean firms.

The scramble for Burma's energy resources make it almost impossible to isolate the regime.

Indeed, over time, as US and European ties to Burma have declined, those of China, Russia and India have increased.

China, then, is very much the key player; but Beijing faces conflicting pressures.

It has to match its energy and strategic interests - access to the Indian Ocean for example - with its desire for stability and its concern for its own reputation abroad, especially with the Beijing Olympics fast approaching.

Wednesday's informal Security Council meeting served in part to gauge the Beijing government's current position.

China's UN ambassador, Wang Guangya, reaffirmed China's predictable position that this crisis was not a threat to international peace and that sanctions would not be helpful.

Held accountable

Formal action is one thing. But might China's concern with regional stability encourage Beijing to whisper some tough words in the Burmese leadership's ear?

That is clearly what Western diplomats are hoping for.

In the short-term, sanctions may not have a great impact on Burma's rulers.

But efforts are underway to impress upon them that there could be long-term consequences if the crisis spirals out of control.

The British ambassador to the UN, John Sawers, echoing a comment from the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, issued a blunt warning to Burma's generals, noting, as he put it, that "the age of impunity is dead".

This is an explicit threat to the country's military rulers that they will ultimately be held accountable for their actions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7015526.stm

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Last Updated: Friday, 28 September 2007, 14:45 GMT 15:45 UK

Junta tightens media screw
By Michael Dobie
BBC News

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44142000/jpg/_44142269_mrtvgrab3_203.jpg

Burma's state-run media blame foreign media for inciting protests

As Burmese soldiers crush dissent on the streets on Rangoon, the country's military rulers have moved to cut the flow of images and information leaving the country.

Images of a Japanese video journalist gunned down in the street and blood-stained protesters and monks have galvanised international condemnation and calls for restraint from the authorities.

But now correspondents and Burmese dissidents in exile now say it is very difficult or impossible to communicate with anyone in Burma by e-mail, mobile phone or landline.

Most of the country's internet link to the outside world has been cut, mobile phone signals are blocked and telephone lines are almost completely down.

A telecoms ministry official told AFP news agency that the country's main internet link was down because an underwater cable was damaged.

Escalating measures

All this has made it more difficult for people to upload pictures of the mass protests to be picked up by international satellite news channels and beamed around the world, including back to Burma.

Many bloggers report that their contacts in Burma are no longer able to e-mail or upload images.

Journalists at the BBC News website say no images are now being sent from Burma and the previously fast flow of e-mail comments sent from inside the country has slowed to a trickle.

London-based Burmese blogger Ko Htike said he is getting nothing over the internet from his contacts in Burma and that he can no longer reach them by mobile phone.

He told the BBC News website that he can occasionally reach people in Burma on landline telephones, but even this is sporadic.

The only other way to make contact is by satellite phone but these are difficult to come by and the risks for people in Burma are tremendous: three-and-a-half years in prison, he said.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44142000/jpg/_44142398_cybermonks_getty203b.jpg

The Irrawaddy news website, however, run by Burmese journalists in exile, has managed to get a few pictures of Friday's protests with a 28 September date stamp on them.

BBC sources in Burma have said that international mobile phone signals have been interrupted and soldiers are searching people for cameras and mobile phones.

On Thursday, a hotel in Rangoon housing foreign journalists was surrounded and ransacked and on Friday, internet cafes were closed.

The regime has gradually but methodically tightened its grip on communications and media.

After the first protests against rising fuel prices several weeks ago, the government cut the telephone links of student leaders.

Next to go were the phone lines to opposition politicians.

As the monks began protesting last week, the government cut telephone lines to the monasteries most active in the protests.

Websites and internet blogs posting information and photographs of the government's action were also blocked.

Instead of a monk picking up the line, callers would hear a message in both English and Burmese saying the telephone line has been suspended, says Moe Myint from the BBC Burmese Service.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44142000/jpg/_44142199_mrtvgrab_203.jpg

'Sky-full of lies'

In a sign that the military junta is afraid of foreign radio and satellite TV coverage of the protests and the crackdown, the state-run media began to get the junta's message out.

State media is airing the official view of events in Burma
The Light of Myanmar newspaper said on Thursday: "Saboteurs from inside and outside the nation and some foreign radio stations, who are jealous of national peace and development, have been making instigative acts through lies to cause internal instability and civil commotion."

The official English-language television station, MRTV-3, reported that people were being intimidated into joining the demonstrations.

Screen captions ran scrolling messages saying: "We favour stability. We favour peace. We oppose unrest and violence."

Another screen caption, also read by an announcer, said the BBC and the Voice of America were broadcasting "a sky-full of lies". Another said: "Beware of destructionists, BBC and VOA."

The flow of dramatic images sent by people inside Burma has fuelled international condemnation of the junta but it is now dwindling to a trickle.

It seems that slowly but surely they are trying to draw a veil of ignorance over the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7016238.stm

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For updates:

From Burmese journalists & others in exile:

http://www.irrawaddymedia.com/

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..... & of course, the BBC.:

Here are the latest accounts from insiders that have been sent to the BBC:

FRIDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER

I am in regular contact with my family and friends in Burma. There is a humanitarian crisis happening there at the moment. Because of the demonstrations, the street vendors and stalls selling vegetables and cooked food are no longer to be found on the streets of Rangoon. People are scared to go out to buy food. Most don't have proper cooking facilities and rely of cheap food sold on the streets. The mains water is foul and undrinkable and everyone relies on five gallon purified water bottles. They are not being delivered at the moment. The curfew is hurting the Muslim population quite badly. During Ramadan, the myriad street restaurants are thronged in the evening and early in the morning when large extended families would be eating together. Now they have to cope in their in home with whatever facilities are available. The increased fuel costs have almost doubled the cost of all essentials.
John, UK

Police are everywhere in Yangon (Rangoon). They are arresting demonstrators on the streets, searching houses and arresting innocent people. They don't want the UN envoy to see the truth of the demonstrations in Burma. The foreign media is not getting the number of deaths right, I am sure that there are many more killed than the BBC is reporting.
Shan, Rangoon

People seem to be determined to continue, despite the bullets, beatings and killings. I hear right now that shooting is still going on near our office. What we need from the international community is not just discussion on sanction or verbal pressure. Defenceless citizens are risking their lives simply to make their voice heard to live in a country free of oppression and extreme poverty, which they have been enduring for the past 19 years. Now is the time for the international community to take action. Anonymous international resident, Rangoon

A group of more than 50 soldiers and riot police just passed in front of our office. They are planning something but I do not know what. About 14:00 I saw a group of protesters - about 30 people - being arrested and prepared to be taken somewhere else by soldiers with green scarfs. They were also forced to squat with their hands behind their heads like prisoners. Teargas was used but I heard no gun shots. One of my colleague just told me that there is a large group of protesters in another part of town. He said that they were swearing at the riot police. The internet is down since last night. People are saying that the government did this to prevent Burmese people sending information to foreign media about what's going on in the country. Only a handful of people, including me, have access to the internet as embassies and big companies have their own satelite links for the internet.
Myat, Rangoon

Now all the internet connections and phone lines are cut. The government worries that we will send evidence of their terrible acts to the outside world. Our people are sad and angry with this government. We are all suffering from their terrible rule. But we don't have the capacity to do anything against them. If we do something, we will be killed and our families will suffer. We don't have any choice, because we are born in Myanmar (Burma). We know it will be over one day. We only wish this day will come soon. B L, Rangoon

Because of the security situation, oficially now non-essential staff are no longer required to come to the office. I will be leaving the office at 11:00 and I'll be staying at home until things get better. The UN special envoy Gambari will leave New York for for Yangon (Rangoon) tomorrow to negotiate with the government. I hope they can work things out though there's a slim chance they will.
Anonymous Rangoon resident

& more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7011884.stm

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Some really informative insight views here, which hopefully can be carried on since it is said, internet started again today there.

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Thanks, Walter.
I came across the site for that blog (& a few others) today. Internet access has been restored again? That's really good, not much news getting through from Burma here.

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Nice job, msolga! I learned a lot.

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Quote:

A Look at Myanmar's Military Junta

Sunday September 30, 2007 3:16 PM

By The Associated Press

A look at the insular military leadership behind the recent crackdown in Myanmar:

WHO THEY ARE

First among equals in the current regime is Senior Gen. Than Shwe. He is said to be superstitious and to consult with astrologers, but otherwise has a public image that is taciturn in the extreme. No. 2 is Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye, whose reputation is, if anything, more ruthless than Than Shwe's, probably because he has more field combat experience from fighting ethnic rebels. Soldiers in the 400,000-strong military live secluded from civilian life in isolated barracks; their families are provided with housing as well.

HOW THEY CAME TO POWER

The State Peace and Development Council, as the ruling junta is formally known, replaced another dictatorship in 1988 after suppressing a pro-democracy uprising. The previous regime, led by Ne Win, destroyed what had been one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies, restricting tourist visas to one week and refusing all foreign investment.

HOW THEY KEEP POWER

Than Shwe's government has opened up the country to foreign investment. Myanmar is rich in natural resources and has survived by cultivating investment in its potentially vast oil and gas reserves. Neighboring China and India curry favor with the junta because of Myanmar's strategic location on the Indian Ocean and its oil and natural gas resources. China is the regime's main ally, supplying the most diplomatic muscle at international forums.

PREVIOUS RESISTENCE TO THEIR RULE

In 1988, the army violently suppressed mass demonstrations against the military dictatorship, though some members of the air force changed sides and supported the protesters. Monk-led street protests threatened the junta's power again after the government refused to accept the outcome of a 1990 vote, in which Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party won a landslide victory. The regime responded with several months of raids on hundreds of pagodas and the arrests of hundreds of monks.

Source

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msolga wrote:

That's really good, not much news getting through from Burma here.

There's quite an active Burmese 'colony' here in Germany, trying to keep up with the latest news.

And we get an excellent (live) news coverage via various radio stations, too.

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An excellent article from Yesterday's AGE, by Bertil Lintner, a Swedish journalist based in northern Thailand who has written extensively on Burma.:

Warrior kings' blighted land

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/09/28/svBURMA_wideweb__470x355,0.jpg

A novice monk watches police and military charge at monks and bystanders outside the Shwedagon Pagoda on September 26.
Photo: AP

Bertil Lintner
September 29, 2007/the AGE

IT DID not take more than a hike in the price of fuel to ignite a revolution in Burma, which goes a long way to showing that anger and discontent with the country's military Government has been simmering under the surface for years.

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Burma conflict: background information (BBC)

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