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| The Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon was a rallying point for pro-democracy activists in 1988. On Sunday, thousands of monks, and
nuns (in pink), gathered to pray at the site. AFP/Getty Images/NEWSCOM |
Protests swell against Burma's military regime
Nuns and others joined the Buddhist monks in Sunday's marches against the ruling junta.
from the September 24, 2007 edition
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"I think it's still at the point where people are afraid to come out and show their hand. But people know that it's spreading around the country," he says.
Burma's ruling junta has pulled back security forces and kept silent on the latest wave of unrest. It denounced student leaders and opposition politicians for their role in an initial round of smaller protests that were quickly suppressed. But clergy angered by attacks by security forces on monks who marched in the northern town of Pakokku began to take to the streets last week, injecting fresh momentum into the protests. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse monks in western Burma.
While monks have played key roles in past antigovernment movements, including resisting British colonial rule, the bold steps by monk leaders put them squarely in the spotlight, if the military decides to send in troops. "The shift from 1988 is that in 1988, the students died first. Now, whatever happens, the monks would die first," warns Soe Aung, who took part in the previous student-led uprising.
Analysts say authorities, who recently finished drafting a long-delayed new constitution, may begin running out of options if the protests continue to swell. On Sunday, about 100 nuns joined the protests for the first time, praying with monks at Shwedagon Shrine before marching to the center of Rangoon.
But many are skeptical that the military leadership will seek a negotiated settlement, given its past intransigence.
"This government doesn't understand the language of compromise," says Aung Zaw, an exiled Burmese activist in Thailand and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. And, he adds, "I think the monks have the upper hand now."
Isolated by US and European sanctions, Burma has become increasingly dependent on its giant neighbor China for political and economic support. That gives Beijing, which fears instability on its borders, an incentive to push the regime to make changes, says Mr. Zaw. Recent Chinese statements on Burma indicate frustration with sluggish reforms there, he said.
Since 1989, China has supplied weapons and military equipment worth $2 billion to Burma's Army, which has increased in size to 450,000 personnel, according to the US Campaign on Burma, an anti-junta advocacy group. Economic ties have also deepened, along with China's interest in Burma's natural resources. Two-way trade doubled between 1999 and 2005 to $1.2 billion.
Critics say China has rewarded its ally by blocking US and British efforts to get the UN to act on Burma. In January, China vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have mandated an active UN role in promoting reconciliation in Burma.
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