This video was produced by Witness in partnership with a Burmese justice group, The Peace Foundation: Burma Issues. It is one small but rare view inside Burma - shot by Burmese residents who are on the run from the military dictatorship. Witness is a remarkable organization which provides cameras and equipment to grassroots activists around the world so they can document their own experiences and struggles and speak to us in their own words or as they write:
“WITNESS uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. We empower people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.”
And the story inside Burma as the monks try to lead a movement for change is one we cannot close our eyes to. One of Ko Htike’s readers posted this horrific account today at his blog, Prosaic Collection:
We just got phone call with our sister living in Yangon about a few hours ago.
We saw on BBC world, saying that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture is far worse!!!!!!!!!
For one instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of Yangon, called Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) had been raided early this morning.
A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and crushed each one’s head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then, they tore off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away.
The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the monastery, tortured , bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every try to forge ahead was met with the bayonets.
When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the monastery.
Please tell your audience of the full extent of the fate of the monks please please !!!!!!!!!!!!
‘Arrested’ is not enough expression. They have been bludgeoned to death !!!!!!
Even with this brutal treatment, the people of Burma are trying to keep fighting for their rights and Ko reported two attempted demonstrations in Yangon (Rangoon) today as well as word that 500 additional monks are being held at a detention center. The monks refuse to accept food from their military jailors. Please sign the global petition at Avaaz.org and support the efforts listed at the Burma Campaign Facebook group such as today’s email campaign calling on companies to end their investments in Burma.
Tomorrow, Congress will consider a bipartisan resolution, HR200 supporting Human Rights in Burma - make sure your representative knows that you want their Yea vote: 1-800-828-0498.
2 Trackbacks To “Burma Update: Monks Dying for Freedom“
I hope this isn’t true
Burma: Thousands dead in massacre of the monks dumped in the jungle
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pag....._id=484903
:(
Jesus wept.
All the latest news w/ links to Burma blogs
Burma crisis: Monday
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/ne.....onday.html
Bush won’t care unless they have oil….
Follow the money! Who does business there?
Choam Nomsky @ 4
Burma has oil. That’s the problem.
Analysis: Gas, oil get Myanmar off hook
http://www.energy-daily.com/re.....k_999.html
Oil companies look to exploit Burma
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Wor.....15956.html
where is the outrage from bush/cheney for this violence against humans.
oh, bush/cheney are not interested, there’s NO OIL for their bastard friends.
this is a worthy cause to help. but, no bush/cheney.
guess one dictator, bush-shit-for-brains, protects another.
this makes me sick…..but this is exactly what Blackwater is doing in Iraq……disgusting
OK, are we as a nation going to continue to interfere with the internal affairs of other countries, as we have so many times before, in Viet Nam, etc etc etc? Why should the US specifically do this? Why not New Zealand, or South Africa, or Sweden, or Canada? Just a rhetorical question, but one which is grounded in seeing that the arrogance of the US has become the standard.
These monks are the bravest men on the face of earth.
Aren’t these Monks pacifists?
Aren’t these Monks pacifists?
Yes, completely.
And where is our pious outrage now?
This flash interactive is pretty good for explaining the background to what’s currently going on.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flas.....89,00.html
The Guardian ought to win a pulitzer for its coverage.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/ne.....onday.html
This is a situation where the government should be replaced. I want to see justice here.
Anyway, no use getting angry. Thanks for the post and the info about contacting my rep to vote for the resolution.
More Latest News from the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/burma/0,,970917,00.html
where is our pious outrage now?….I don’t know……perhaps we should ask our Preznit.
I say that we call for an immediate international boycott of all oil companies, and all companies that do business with Burma until the killings stop.
my prayers to my Buddhist brothers and sisters in Myanmar.
Uh gee, I’d like to help, but I’m kinda tied up in Iraq right now.
-George
Thanks for all the links to the latest news - the situation in Burma has been horrid for so long … For folks interested in more background, there’s an amazing book From the Land of Green Ghosts by a Burmese student leader in the ‘88 uprising.
One major pressure point is with China and their support for the dictators - there are calls to boycott the Olympics unless China uses its pressure.
On the corporate side, perhaps the largest US based company is Chevron - at the Facebook link, there’s a list of companies with email addresses to write to.
The Penguin Says: [Deleted. Moronic babbling from a moron. Shocking-Sitemonitor]
That’s interesting. How so?
centuries men and women have been dying for change..
what are you doing?
Bobby Poulsen @ 23:
Fixed.
Question Blog @ 28:
Goin’ to Wal-Mart!
I can’t stand the chimperor for lots and lots of legitimate reasons, but blaming him for this, especially after he brought the issue up and chastized the Myanmar junta on the floor of the UN last week, is rediculous.
As long as China is on of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members (along with France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) which have veto power over any resolution, the UN will likely remain crippled over this. Some other power will have to intervene or it will not stop. The Myanmar junta govt is already quite secluded, and even IF (which is a big if) its foreign investors get cold feet due to boycotts against them, as long as they are sitting on their oil and natural gas reserves they know they will be able to just do business with the next guy.
This screams for a humanitarian military intervention from someone. All it weould take is a fleet of warships to pull alongside the coast and the junta would cave to whatever the demands were.
Bobby Poulsen @ 23:
Uh gee, I’d like to help, but I’m kinda tied up in Iraq
at the ranch
right now.
-George
Fixed.
It’s hard to find anything good to say about the president but what exactly do you think there is he could do about it? Just curious.
It sucks ass they are using a facebook link. No way am I registering with facebook, so I guess I won’t get to see it.
That’s just stupid as hell.
Looks like a good place for the Chennyator to retire to. The local politcians agree with his methods. Wish I could share a clip of Mayor Sanders reversing himself on gay marriage when it turned out his daughter is gay. These people lack empathy. There should be a test for all candidates, if they have NO empathy they should be rejected.
The Penguin Says:
[Deleted. Moronic babbling from a moron. Shocking-Sitemonitor]
Guess what? I stubbed my toe walking out of bed this morning, and it hurt like a bastard.
And all I know is that it’s Bush’s fault.
[deleted - knock it off]
Penguin,
You really aren’t helping anything, axcept to give excuse to reichwingers to affirm their claims that the wacky left will blame everything on Bush.
I’m surprised the Preznit has invaded Burma for all the oil ….that and alot of other natural resources…and there is alot of oil there…and rubber.
joe @ 33:
I’m not sure if you were responding to my ‘edit’ or to the person who originally posted the ‘note from george,’ but I was simply pointing out that Chimpmasta Chimpalot isn’t exactly invested much in paying attention to even the details of our own conflict, let alone conflicts elsewhere.
As far as what he could do, thats a huge huge subject that I’d be happy to discuss sometime when I’m not sneaking in snarky posts while at work… =P
ooppss…that was supposed to say ..”Hasn’t invaded Burma”…sorry…time to go now…hasta.
At leats Bush is doing something. Not enough imho, but he is doing something, and it sure isn’t his fault.
Bush targets Myanmar, Castro in UN speech
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/.....ml?ref=rss
Bush unveils new sanctions against Myanmar
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20971332/
[refers to deleted post]
I don’t know where you get the news from Penguin but it doesn’t seem like getting it.
Bush, at U.N., Announces Stricter Burmese Sanctions
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09.....38;emc=rss
mudshark @ 39
Just like Darfur in Sudan, as long as China has dibs on most of the oil, the US will not intervene.
God, I hated sticking up for the chimperor about this or anything. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.
yuk. Now I feel like I need to go take another shower.
Where does this criminal dictator get the goons? Where do they spring from?? Why in every authoritarian society, including the one developing here, are there idiot brutes who will carry out the violence of the elite against the PEOPLE!???
#44 justabill….sadbuttrue……….now I have to take a shower….gn folks.
damn…#41….ok…I’m outta here.
“Where does this criminal dictator get the goons? Where do they spring from??”
It’s a junta govt (like Pakistan). The military is the government.
hell it aint hard to find gestapo types fuck just attend sunday school and youll find enough scum to fill any army ,
Bush is a joke. And essentially, that translates into the US being a joke on the international stage. How much credibility do you think he has on the UN podium when people look to Iraq and the endless betrayals of the principles of western civilization?
He is a joke. A joke, I tell you.
BTW, this video was from the Karen people who have been fighting for independance from Burma since 1949. They are around 7 milion, an ethnic minority in Burma.
If they were in the west, they would be called terrorists.
In 1988 they had 20.000 people under arms.
Last year they had 4000. They are being hunted down and killed like rats.
If you want to get involved, go to http://www.karenpeople.org/ they need all the help they can get.
please.
They are dying for their freedom over there while we allow our freedom to be taken away over here.
God damn any corporation or country funding the junta
Chris from Ohio @ 49:
Goddamn monsters. The same will happen here eventually unless we fight back, that means all of us