still from beatings of burmese protestors
As you may have read in the news recently, the human rights atrocities committed by the military regime in Burma are not improving. The military raids towns in the middle of the night. The military goes through the streets, pulls all of the people out of their homes, lines them up and compares them to the faces of the protesters captured in pictures. If the military finds people that “match” the pictures, they brutally haul them away. Best case: the people are arrested (aka detained and probably tortured). Worst case: they “disappear.”

Earlier at a press conference/briefing Maung Maung (former prime minister of Burma) participated as a panelist. Maung Maung’s message included the below points:

  • * These demonstrations were not random and are not over. The protests were planned and organized. The organizers do not want to be shot, beaten, or arrested and tortured so they have gone underground for the time being in order to reorganize. These peaceful protests will continue; however, before that happens we must assess our resources so that we know how many satellite phones still exist, where they are located, who has gone underground, who has been arrested, as well as who has “disappeared,” etc. In sum, THIS IS NOT OVER and is not losing momentum.
  • * We need the international community to stop and prevent the military’s brutal crackdown however they can.
  • * We need meaningful support from the international community. I.E. We need Sanctions that prevent the regime from getting any income; we need support from the Security Council; we need to challenge the regime’s credentials and their right to represent Burma at the UN; etc.
  • * The regime reacts to pressure, and we need the press and the international community to hold the regime accountable. We cannot let this story disappear again like it did in 1988.
  • * We need direct funding for the pro-democracy movement. What we are able to do, and the resources we are able to provide, etc. are directly related to how much money we have. Thus, we need funding in order to keep this movement strong.

Okay so, what can all of us do about this?

(1) We can show the world we care and will not tolerate these horrendous human rights violations by participating in demonstrations at home like the International Day of Action (Oct.6) with Worldwide Rallies supporting the people of Burma, thus encouraging our governments and leaders to continue to care about this issue and apply international pressure. Please check out these events at: www.burma-watch.org and participate in the demonstrations near you. If you’ve missed the demonstration, start one of your own. Talk to your peeps. Make noise…

(2) We can stay educated about the issue and educate others. Some websites and resources you might find interesting include: