Burma protests: still just a flurry

Rooted in economic concerns, they're unlikely to swell into a pro-democracy movement as in 1988.

By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the August 28, 2007 edition

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Bankgok, Thailand - A rare burst of street protests in military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) has shone a spotlight on an emboldened network of young democracy activists who came of age during a popular uprising in 1988.

As authorities try to quell dissent after a week of almost daily rallies over rising fuel prices, some observers are drawing parallels with 1988, when economic grievances swelled into a pro-democracy movement. Memories of the bloody repression that followed have so far kept all but a few from joining the current protests, though.

For now, the flurry of dissent has yet to coalesce into a serious challenge to the military, which has ruled in various guises since a coup in 1962. But the rising cost of fuel and other commodities in a country that can barely feed its people despite ample natural resources – including large gas fields – could stir further unrest.

"If something happens, it will be because of economic reasons, not political reasons, because people don't have food on the table. That's the only scenario to see protests all over the country at the same time," says Aung Naing Oo, an exiled Burmese activist turned analyst in Thailand.

The former capital of Yangon, where the protests began last Sunday, was quiet Monday following a government crackdown. A small protest against the cost of fuel was held in another city, Bago, Reuters reported. Dozens of activists have already been detained and may face sedition charges that carry sentences of up to 20 years

Among those arrested was Min Ko Naing, a prominent student leader who spent 16 years in jail before his release in 2004. Since then, he has forged a network of activists known as the '88 Generation Students. The group has begun to test the state's tolerance for civil disobedience, while keeping its distance from the political stalemate between the junta and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The '88 students have been walking a fine line and continuing to take positions on social issues ... they've always tried to stay out of politics and reflect concerns for what actually has an impact on people," says a UN official in Burma.

The catalyst for the protests: fuel prices

The spark for a broader campaign came on Aug. 15, when authorities abruptly slashed fuel subsidies, pushing up pump prices by 100 percent and forcing private bus operators to raise fares. As popular frustrations began to boil over, student activists led peaceful protests in Yangon that attracted hundreds of people in a show of defiance against the military. The regime responded by arresting leaders and mobilizing thugs to attack demonstrators, according to exiled Burmese activists interviewed for this article and reporters in Burma.

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