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Headlines : Civil LibertiesMyanmar imposes curfew, bans assembly
Authorities announced the ban on gatherings (of more than five people) and a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew through loudspeakers on vehicles cruising the streets of Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and its second city, Mandalay. The announcement said the measures would be in effect for 60 days.
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.
Myanmar junta sets curfew amid mass protests
[Posted By Unite]Republished from Yahoo! News
YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military leaders imposed a nighttime curfew and banned gatherings of more than five people Tuesday after 35,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters defied the junta’s warnings and staged another day of anti-government protests.
The country’s hard-line military rulers have not used force so far to stop the biggest anti-government demonstrations in nearly two decades, led by the monks. But soldiers in full battle gear were deployed Tuesday in the country’s largest city, setting the stage for a showdown with a determined pro-democracy protest movement.
Posted by Unite
"And this wind from below, that of rebellion and dignity, is not just an answer to the wind from above. It is not just an angry response. Rather, it carries with it not just a call for the destruction of an unjust and arbitrary system but a new proposal: the...
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Posted by Szamko on Monday, September 24th 2007
Full battle gear, Myanmar Style :
The first-known activist rounded up after the curfew was a popular comedian famed for his anti-government jokes.
Zargana was taken away from his home by authorities shortly after midnight, reports said.
Zargana led a committee that provided food and other necessities to protesting monks along with actor Kyaw Thu and poet Aung Way, whose fates were not known.
Reports from inside the country indicated that the government had also cut off internet access following the curfew announcement.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate who has been under house arrest, had been moved to prison.
END OF QUOTE
From Unite’s post :
When faced with a similar crisis in 1988, the government harshly put down a student-led democracy uprising. Security forces fired into crowds of peaceful demonstrators and killed thousands, traumatizing the nation.
AND and and
Sarko is “extremely pre-occupied”. LOL.
Bush says the “American people are outraged by the situation in Burma” — so the Bush Administration is going to shut off the whole nation’s life support systems. Really, sanctions are such a bright idea.
I suppose everyone knows that das junta held an election, 17 years ago, and Aung San Suu Kyi won that election, by a wide margin. And she’s been under house arrest ever since.
Yep. She’s their Prime Minister. She’s been under house arrest for 17 years. Since she won the election.
Better deal than what the Empire has been giving the Palestinians — for their “poor” choice — that’s for sure.
Monks killed in Myanmar crackdown
Up to eight people including five monks are reported to have been killed in a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Myanmar.