The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Five Dead in Bago Bus Crash
- Landmines Go Off Near Rakhine Highway, None Injured
- US Embassy ‘Appreciates’ State Counselor’s Pledges on Rakhine
- Policymakers and Advocates Gather at Women’s Forum for Peace
- Hindu’s Fleeing Rakhine Violence Hope for Shelter in Modi’s India
- Muslims Trapped After Rakhine Violence Told to Stay Put
- Myanmar Army Chief Visits Rakhine
- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Going ‘Soft’ on Military
- Saffron Revolution: A Rangoon Diary
| Posted: 20 Sep 2017 07:57 AM PDT PYAY TOWNSHIP, Bago Division — Five people have died and 40 more have been injured after a bus plunged off a hill on the Pyay-Taungup highway around 10 p.m. on Tuesday. Police reported the Ye Aung Lan highway bus driving from Taungup Township in Rakhine State to Pyay Township in Bago Division along the Rakhine Yoma mountain range was speeding and alleged the driver was intoxicated. The casualties included a 61-year-old man, 60-year-old woman, 65-year-old woman, 20-year-old girl, and 50-year-old woman, all from Taungup. Twenty-five men and 15 women were injured and are now receiving treatment in Pyay, Taungup, and Oke Chit Pin hospitals. U Phone Kyaw, supervisor of coach station Shwe Mhan Yadanar in Taungup, said the driver's thigh broke in the accident. "Rescue efforts were underway since 2 a.m. We could rescue them much quicker because of volunteer groups," he said. Three of the bodies were removed from the crash site during the night and the remaining two were removed between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday, he said. Traffic police officer U Kyaw Hla Aung opened the case at Oke Chit Pin police station in Bago Division against driver U Khaing Mg Lin under Penal Code sections 304(a) for causing death by negligence, 337 and 338 for causing hurt and grievous hurt by an act endangering the safety of others. Article 304(a) carries up to ten years imprisonment, Article 338 up to five years and Article 337 up to two years. The post Five Dead in Bago Bus Crash appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Landmines Go Off Near Rakhine Highway, None Injured Posted: 20 Sep 2017 06:00 AM PDT Three landmines exploded near the 96 mile marker of a highway connecting Minbya and Mrauk U in Rakhine State at 7:45 pm on Tuesday. Reuters reported on Sept. 10 that five landmine deaths in Rakhine State had been reported in total by Bangladeshi border guards and Amnesty International, the casualties being self-identifying Rohingya fleeing Myanmar for Bangladesh. According to the UN, more than 420,000 Muslims have left Rakhine State and sought refuge in Bangladesh since militants attacked 30 police outposts in the region on Aug. 25, after which "clearance operations" by the Myanmar Army followed. An additional 30,000 Arakanese Buddhists and Hindus remain internally displaced in the region. The post Landmines Go Off Near Rakhine Highway, None Injured appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| US Embassy ‘Appreciates’ State Counselor’s Pledges on Rakhine Posted: 20 Sep 2017 05:30 AM PDT YANGON — The US Embassy in Myanmar said on Wednesday that they appreciated State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's stated commitment to implementing rule of law throughout Rakhine State and her promise to deliver justice regarding human rights violations that have taken place. The embassy's spokesperson Aryani Manning told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the embassy welcomed the State Counselor's decision to speak publicly about the ongoing violence and the resulting humanitarian crisis that has caused deep alarm around the world. "We appreciate her commitment to restoring rule of law throughout Rakhine State and her pledge to ensure justice for human rights violations," she said. "We note her reaffirmation that her government will carry out the final recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission as quickly as possible. The United States has offered its support to the government as it works to address the long-term challenges addressed in the Commission's report," Manning added. On Tuesday, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a diplomatic briefing on the situation in Rakhine State for the first time since violence flared again in the restive region, when Muslim militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked 30 police posts on Aug. 25—killing 13 members of government security forces. Subsequent clashes and Myanmar Army-led clearance operations have left hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, including an estimated 410,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh with reports of killings, rape, and destruction of property by government forces. In her speech, the State Counselor condemned any human rights violations and unlawful violence in Rakhine State, calling on the international community to assist in investigating the latest crisis and warning that action would be taken against anyone, regardless of race, religion, or political standpoint, who violated human rights in Myanmar. "Every single recommendation that will benefit peace, harmony and development in Rakhine State will be implemented within the shortest time possible," said she referring to the commission's recommendations. Meanwhile in Rakhine State, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia Patrick Murphy was in the state capital of Sittwe on Wednesday to meet with state government officials, civil society organizations, and members of ethnic minority groups to discuss the situation in Rakhine State, the embassy said. Accompanied by US Ambassador for Myanmar Scot Marciel, Patrick Murphy will discuss the urging of humanitarian access, an end to violence, and the need to protect the human rights of all communities in the region. The assistant secretary has been in Myanmar since Monday. With the ambassador, he had meetings on Tuesday with the State Counselor, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Myat Tun Oo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary U Kyaw Zeya, and Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Win Myat Aye. US Embassy spokesperson Aryani Manning said that the ambassador urged the Myanmar government and the military to immediately facilitate expanded humanitarian access to affected areas of Rakhine State and commit to allowing refugees to return to their homes. "He also raised allegations of human rights abuses and violations and called upon the Myanmar security forces to end all violence and protect all communities," she said. The post US Embassy 'Appreciates' State Counselor's Pledges on Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Policymakers and Advocates Gather at Women’s Forum for Peace Posted: 20 Sep 2017 04:20 AM PDT More than 400 women gathered at a peace forum in Hpa-an, the capital of Karen State, for three days of discussion on peace and security for women, and to commemorate the International Day of Peace on Thursday. The Women's Forum for Peace—held from Sept. 19-21—focused on sharing experiences through panel discussions relating to peace and security, internally displaced persons, violence against women and the women's efforts in Myanmar's current peace building process. This year, participants included parliamentarians, the director of the government department of social welfare, and ethnic minority representatives from groups including the Akha and Wa, according to the organizers. Also present were members of the Women's League of Burma, Gender Equality Network, Women Organization Network, and the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process. Those present said they had joined to show their solidarity for the women's movement for peace, said Lway Poe Ngal, the general secretary of the Women's League of Burma, which co-hosted the forum with the Karen Women's Empowerment Group. This year's theme for the forum was "Together for Peace." "We have to work harder and work more" to achieve peace and maximize women's involvement, said Daw Zin Mar Aung, the Lower House lawmaker representing Yangon's Yankin Township. Daw Zin Mar Aung and other women lawmakers joined the second session of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference in May and participated in the discussions for each of five key sectors: politics, economics, social issues, security, and land and the environment. Daw Zin Mar Aung said the political dialogue framework calls for the inclusion of 30 percent women among the representation, and that she has seen that "both the government and the legislative sector are trying to practice it." "But we still have to try to include more women, because there were around 17 percent women representatives in the last Union Peace Conference," she said, referring total of 154 women out of 910 delegates and technical support persons, she said. However, according to the government figures released after the Union Peace Conference, there were only 15 percent of women in delegate roles as their calculations indicated there were 105 women out of 700 delegates. One of the aims of the current peace forum, Lway Poe Ngal added, is "to gather recommendations" for the government's National Strategic Action Plan for the advancement of women, which was set for a ten-year timeframe, from 2013-2022. "The voices of the ordinary people need to be heard by the decision makers; thus we invited members of Parliaments and the department of social welfare," Lway Poe Ngal said, referring to inclusivity in the government's national action plan. The WLB, an alliance of thirteen ethnic women's organizations in Myanmar, is a longtime advocate for women's empowerment, women's political leadership and participation in the peace building process. "There is still no peaceful situation in the conflict zone, no stopping of war, and violence against women still continues," Lway Poe Ngal said. The advocates will organize an event for the International Peace Day on Thursday, with women planning to wear clothing with the slogan "No Women, No Peace." The post Policymakers and Advocates Gather at Women's Forum for Peace appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Hindu’s Fleeing Rakhine Violence Hope for Shelter in Modi’s India Posted: 20 Sep 2017 03:35 AM PDT KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh and NEW DELHI, India — Caught in the crossfire between Myanmar's military and Muslim insurgents, hundreds of Hindus who have fled to Bangladesh are placing their hopes on the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in neighboring India. Nearly 500 are sheltered in a cleared-out chicken farm in a Hindu hamlet in Bangladesh's southeast, a couple of miles from where most of the 421,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims who have also fled violence in Myanmar since Aug. 25 are living in makeshift camps. The Hindu refugees say they are scared of going back to their villages in Buddhist-majority Myanmar's restive Rakhine state, but also wary of staying in mostly Muslim Bangladesh. Modi's government, meanwhile, is making it easier for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and other minorities from Bangladesh and Pakistan to gain citizenship in India. "India is also known as Hindustan, the land of the Hindus," said Niranjan Rudra, sitting on a plastic sheet in the chicken farm flanked by his wife, who sported a large vermilion red dot on her forehead typical of married Hindu women. "We just want a peaceful life in India, not much. We may not get that in Myanmar or here," he said. Fellow refugees nodded in agreement, stating that they wanted the message to reach the Indian government through the media. The Indian government declined to comment on the Hindu refugees' hopes. A government source said it was waiting while the Supreme Court hears an appeal against the home ministry's plans to deport around 40,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims from the country. But Achintya Biswas, a senior member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or the World Hindu Council, which has close ties with the ideological parent of Modi's ruling party, said India was the natural destination for the Hindus fleeing Myanmar. "Hindu families must be allowed to enter India by the government," Biswas said by phone. "Where else will they go? This is their place of origin." Biswas said the VHP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the umbrella group that mentors Modi's ruling party, would submit a report to the home ministry on the refugees and demand a new policy allowing Hindus from Myanmar and Bangladesh to seek asylum in India. The Hindu right who form the bedrock of Modi's support have long believed India is the home for all Hindus. India's Home Ministry spokesman K.S. Dhatwalia declined to comment. A senior home ministry official in New Delhi, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that no Hindu in Myanmar or Bangladesh affected by the violence had approached Indian authorities. "At this juncture we have no SOS calls from Hindus," said the official. "Also, the Supreme Court is yet to decide whether India should deport Rohingya Muslims or not. The matter is sub-judice and any policy decision will be taken only after the court's order." 'Want to Feel Safe' Hindus make up a small but long-standing minority in both Myanmar and Bangladesh. Refugee Rudra, a barber from Myanmar's Thit Tone Nar Gwa Son village, showed Reuters what he said was a temporary citizenship card issued in 1978 by the authorities there. The card listed his race as "Indian" and religion as "Hindu". Rudra and other Hindu refugees said they had fled soon after insurgents attacked 30 Myanmar police posts, triggering a fierce military counteroffensive. Since then, rights monitors and fleeing Rohingya say the army and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes have mounted a campaign of arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population, leaving many villages in northern Rakhine empty. "Our village in Myanmar was surrounded by hundreds of men in black masks on the morning of Aug. 25," said Veena Sheel, a mother-of-two whose husband works in Malaysia. "They called some men out and asked them to fight the security forces … a few hours after we heard gunshots." Sheel left the next day with eight other women and their families, walking for two days to reach Bangladesh. "There are so many people all around us. No peace here, no peace back in Myanmar," said Sheel. "We should be taken to Hindustan, that's our land. Wherever we stay, we want to feel safe." Since taking office in 2014, Modi's government has issued orders stating that no Hindu or member of another minority from Pakistan or Bangladesh would be considered an illegal immigrant even if they entered the country without valid documents on or before Dec. 31, 2014. It also plans to nearly halve to six years the period Hindus, Christians and other minorities from those countries need to have lived in India to be granted citizenship by naturalization. "We are regularizing only those who have come due to religious persecution in Bangladesh and Pakistan," junior home minister Kiren Rijiju told Reuters last month, adding that there was no policy on refugees from Myanmar. It will not be easy for secular India to accept the Myanmar Hindu refugees' demand while the government is pushing for the deportation of self-identifying Rohingya Muslims. Modi's government has already been criticized by activists for not speaking out against Myanmar's military offensive, and accused of vilifying the self-identifying Rohingya in the country to seek legal clearance for their deportation. The post Hindu's Fleeing Rakhine Violence Hope for Shelter in Modi's India appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Muslims Trapped After Rakhine Violence Told to Stay Put Posted: 20 Sep 2017 02:31 AM PDT SITTWE, Rakhine State —Thousands of self-identifying Rohingya Muslims trapped by hostile Buddhists in Rathedaung Township of Rakhine State have enough food and will not be granted the safe passage they requested from two remote villages, a senior government official said on Tuesday. The Muslim villagers said they wanted to leave but needed government protection from ethnic Rakhine Buddhists who had threatened to kill them. They also said they were running short of food since Aug. 25, when Rohingya militants launched deadly attacks in Rakhine state, provoking a fierce crackdown by the Myanmar military. At least 420,000 Rohingya have since fled into neighboring Bangladesh to escape what a senior UN official has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing." Tin Maung Swe, secretary of the Rakhine state government, said requests from the two villages for safe passage had been denied, since they had enough rice and were protected by a nearby police outpost. "Their reasons were not acceptable," he said. "They must stay in their original place." Residents of Ah Nauk Pyin, one of the two self-identifying Rohingya villages, said they hoped to move to the relative safety of a camp outside Sittwe, the nearby state capital. About 90,000 Rohingya displaced by a previous bout of violence in 2012 are confined to camps in Rakhine in squalid conditions. But such a move was "impossible," said state secretary Tin Maung Swe, since it might anger Rakhine Buddhists and further inflame communal tensions. In a nationally televised speech on Tuesday, Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi vowed to punish the perpetrators of human rights violations in Rakhine, but did not address UN accusations of ethnic cleansing by the military. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate said that many Muslims had not fled and urged foreign diplomats to study why certain areas of Rakhine state had "managed to keep the peace." "We can arrange for you to visit these areas and to ask them for yourself why they have not fled … even at a time when everything around them seems to be in a state or turmoil," she said. The Rohingya residents of Ah Nauk Pyin say they have no other choice but to stay, and their fraught relations with equally edgy Rakhine neighbors could snap at any moment. About 2,700 people live in Ah Nauk Pyin, which sits half-hidden among fruit trees and coconut palms on a rain-swept peninsula. Its residents said that Rakhine men have made threatening phone calls and recently congregated outside the village to shout, "Leave, or we will kill you all". On Tuesday morning, Rakhine villagers chased away two Rohingya men trying to tend to their fields, said Maung Maung, the leader of Ah Nauk Pyin. The Rakhine deny harassing their Muslim neighbors, but want them to leave, fearing they might collaborate with militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which carried out the Aug. 25 attacks. Khin Tun Aye, chief of Shwe Laung Tin, one of the nearby Rakhine villages, said they had chased away the two Rohingya men in case they were "planning to attack or blow up our village." "They shouldn't come close during this time of conflict situation. People are living in constant fear," he said. The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Myanmar told Reuters it was "aware and concerned" about the situation and was discussing it with the Myanmar government. State secretary Tin Maung Swe said Reuters could not visit the area for security reasons, but said the authorities were assessing needs of those living there. "If they need food, we are ready to send it," he said. "Don't worry about it." The post Muslims Trapped After Rakhine Violence Told to Stay Put appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Myanmar Army Chief Visits Rakhine Posted: 20 Sep 2017 01:15 AM PDT YANGON — Myanmar Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Rakhine State capital Sittwe on Tuesday afternoon for the first time since militant attacks in late August. His visit comes amid condemnation from the international community against him and the army for allegedly killing self-identifying Rohingya Muslim civilians and burning their homes in northern Rakhine State in response to the attacks of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. So far, an estimated 420,000 Muslims from Rakhine have fled to Bangladesh, with reports of killings, rape, and destruction of property by government forces. Home affairs minister Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe, border affairs minister Lt-Gen Ye Aung, air force chief Gen Khin Aung Myint, and other senior military officers accompanied the army chief, the commander-in-chief's office reported. According to the office, the commander of the Rakhine Myanmar Army command, and directors of the military engineering and medical services boards briefed them on the security operations, progress on fencing the 170-mile border with Bangladesh, and army healthcare teams helping residents. About 30,000 Arakanese and Hindus fled to other parts of Rakhine amid fears of more militant attacks, and roughly 4,000 have now returned. The army chief instructed the staff on getting timely information, as, the statement read, there could not be any more mistakes with security affairs. He ensured "systematic deployment" of security forces, and the allocation of meals, accommodation and healthcare for locals of Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. He stressed the need for providing security with adequate strength and for following the law and disciplines, said the office, adding that he ordered the continued citizenship verification process for issuing the National Verification Cards (NVC) in Rakhine. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing landed in Sittwe hours after the State Counselor addressed diplomats in Naypyitaw on the latest Rakhine crisis. She called on the international community to probe the reasons for the mass exodus and condemned all human rights abuses. Some international observers said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi failed to condemn the military's alleged crimes against Muslims in Rakhine while local political analysts and politicians welcomed the speech as a fair statement and a bold stance under very complex circumstances. The post Myanmar Army Chief Visits Rakhine appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Going ‘Soft’ on Military Posted: 19 Sep 2017 10:50 PM PDT Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has rejected a suggestion she is soft on the military, which the UN has accused of ethnic cleansing, saying her relationship with the generals was normal and her objective was national reconciliation. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday condemned rights abuses in Rakhine State, where conflict that began last month has forced 421,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims to seek refuge in Bangladesh, and said violators would be punished. But, in her first address to the Buddhist-majority nation on the crisis, she did not address UN accusations of ethnic cleansing by the security forces, drawing cool international responses. "We've never changed our stand," Suu Kyi said in an interview with Radio Free Asia, when asked if she had softened her stance on the military, which she challenged for years in her campaign for democracy. "Our goal has been national reconciliation from the very beginning. We have never criticized the military itself, but only their actions. We may disagree on these types of actions." She cited her unsuccessful bid in parliament to change a military-drafted constitution, which bars her from the presidency and gives the military responsibility over security and a veto over charter reform. "We'll continue to bring changes within the parliament. I've stood firm with the military before, and still do now." As in her speech on Tuesday, she did not refer to the accusations that the military is engaged in ethnic cleansing. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar's independence leader who founded the army, has for years been feted in the West as a champion of democracy during years of military rule and house arrest. But the Nobel Peace laureate has faced growing criticism for saying little about abuses faced by the self-identifying Rohingya. Rights monitors and fleeing Muslims say the army and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes have mounted a campaign of arson aimed at driving out the mostly stateless Muslim population. The UN rights agency said it was "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." Myanmar rejects the charge, saying its forces are tackling insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army who it has accused of setting the fires and attacking civilians. 'Destroying' Reputation Western diplomats and aid officials had been hoping that in her first address on the Rakhine State conflict she would issue an unequivocal condemnation of violence and hate speech. They welcomed the message, as far as it went, but some had been hoping for a stronger stand and doubted if she had done enough to deflect global criticism. Suu Kyi condemned all rights violations and said she was committed to the restoration of peace and the rule of law, and action would be taken against violators. On the return of refugees, she said Myanmar was ready to start a verification process under a 1993 arrangement with Bangladesh and "refugees from this country will be accepted without any problem". She also said diplomats could visit the conflict zone. In a phone call to Suu Kyi, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed the Myanmar's commitment to allow the return of refugees, but urged it to facilitate humanitarian aid to those affected by the violence and to address "deeply troubling" human rights abuse allegations, the State Department said. Britain said it had suspended its military training programme in Myanmar and French President Emmanuel Macron condemned "unacceptable ethnic cleaning." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly: "The authorities in Myanmar must end the military operations, allow unhindered humanitarian access and recognise the right of refugees to return in safety and dignity; and they must also address the grievances of the Rohingya." Twenty-two members of the U.S. Congress wrote to Tillerson calling for a "strong, meaningful" response and the head of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker, said Suu Kyi risked "destroying" her reputation as a force for positive change. "She had yet another opportunity today to stand up for the Muslim minority … but instead refused to acknowledge the military's role in the ongoing atrocities," he said. Western governments that backed Suu Kyi's campaign against military rule still see her as the best hope for Myanmar's political and economic transition. But she has to avoid angering the army and alienating supporters by being seen to take the side of a Muslim minority that enjoys little sympathy in a country that has seen a surge of Buddhist nationalism. The post Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Denies Going 'Soft' on Military appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Saffron Revolution: A Rangoon Diary Posted: 19 Sep 2017 06:53 PM PDT This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, a series of mass protests led by Buddhist monks against Myanmar's military government. Nine days of demonstrations not only rocked Myanmar but shook the conscience of the free world. Protesters in Yangon and other cities and in the country's monasteries endured just over one week of bloody suppression. Bangkok-based author and photojournalist Thierry Falise lived through the events in Yangon and wrote a diary of the nine days of terror, first published in The Irrawaddy magazine in November 2007.  Friday, September 21—It has been raining nonstop for days. I rushed down from Mandalay yesterday when I heard about the first demonstrations by monks in the former capital. Around 3 p.m., while working in my hotel room, I hear some psalmody rising up from the street. From the window, I observe a couple of hundred monks walking in the rain. By the time I pack my photo equipment and rush down, they have reached the nearby Sule Pagoda. Most of the monks are under 30. A small crowd of civilians have joined them. Some applaud, others bow on the wet ground, a group of youths form a human chain as if to protect them against a still invisible enemy.  A monk with a bleeding shoulder wound. (Thierry Falise) The monks leave the City Hall area and, under torrential rain, start to walk at a quick pace on streets transformed into rivers. They repeatedly chant the Buddha's loving kindness incantations. A smiling man offers to hold my umbrella while I am taking pictures. Two hours later, the procession ends at the Bohtataung Pagoda. I did not see any uniformed men during the whole afternoon, nobody has asked me any questions, but I am sure the crowd is infiltrated by plainclothes policemen and members of the government-back thuggish organization, Union Solidarity and Development Association. "See you tomorrow," a man whispers.  Saturday, September 22—After vainly looking for them around the Shwedagon Pagoda, I finally meet the demonstrators on their way to the Sule Pagoda. There are more monks and civilians than yesterday. A nasty-looking guy with a "Press" badge is filming the whole scene, apparently only interested in people's faces. At an almost racing pace, under an unrelenting rain, the cortege passes through Rangoon townships before dissolving around 6 p.m. Some people tell me that several hundred monks marched through barricades on University Avenue, where detained Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi lives and chanted the "Metta Sutta" (the Buddha's words on loving kindness) in front of her house. Authorities made no effort to stop the monks. Suu Kyi came out of her home to pay her respects to the monks. I start to feel that something serious is happening. It's an odd, exciting, emotional feeling to be living history from within.  Monks in a standoff with security forces. (Thierry Falise) Sunday, September 23—I meet the day's protesters at the Sule Pagoda. Two monks hold a banner in English: "The loving kindness must win everything." In a strong sign of protest, a monk raises his turned-up alms bowl. About 2,000 monks, joined for the first time by white-clad nuns, march from the Shwedagon Pagoda towards the city center. The monks and nuns, together with hundreds of accompanying young people and students, shout demands for lower commodity prices, a start to meaningful political dialogue and the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.  Bloodstains on the ground at Ngwe Kyar Yan Monastery where about 200 monks were arrested. (Thierry Falise) Monday, September 24—The sun is back today. I go to watch thousands of monks gathering at the foot of the Shwedagon Pagoda. A maroon and purple wave cuts through a compact crowd, sweeps through the sacred pagoda and then flows down to the city center. I feel enveloped by a sweet cyclone of fervor and hope. A huge crowd is now gathering all along the streets. Hundred of thousands of Rangoon dwellers applaud from sidewalks, balconies, apartment windows, the roofs of department stores, businesses, from every corner of the city.  Tuesday, September 25—A scorching and humid heat covers the city. The protest turns out to be more political today. People wear T-shirts with portraits of Suu Kyi and her father, Aung San. An infirmary has been set up at the Sule Pagoda. Civilians are applying plasters to the blistered feet of monks and are massaging soar legs. Someone announces that members of the National League for Democracy are going to make a speech and loudspeakers are brought. But, at the monks' request, there won't be any political speeches. The monks start marching again. More and more people cheer them. There are shouts of "democracy" and the demonstrators look as if they have already been liberated. Several other foreign photographers are now covering the demonstrations, and during a brief stop dozens of people cheer us and tell us: "Let the world know about our miserable fate. We are not against the soldiers, but against the army's leaders." Around 5 p.m., back at the hotel, I see four military trucks full of soldiers driving towards the Sule Pagoda. A curfew is imposed for 60 days. Repression has started.  Wednesday, September 26—Shortly before noon, security forces disperse the crowd with tear gas at the Shwedagon Pagoda. About 100 monks manage to gather on a street below the pagoda. In less than an hour, they are met by thousands of people surging from side streets and buses and are welcomed emotionally by their supporters. People show up in greater numbers than yesterday. They give us, the photographers, water, sweets and protective masks to wear in the case of tear gas attack. People tell us soldiers are shooting directly into the crowds in some parts of Rangoon. Anger and emotion fill the air.  Thursday, September 27—A contact tells me that there is trouble near the Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery, in northern Rangoon. I rush there with two colleagues. Soldiers, policemen and vigilantes block the roads. The night before, at least 200 monks were brutally arrested in this monastery, and we hear that one died. Hundreds of local people fill the streets, outraged by the arrests. We are told that soldiers opened fire on student protesters in Tamwe Township and that a group of children from a primary school was trapped behind the security forces' lines.  A lone protester confronts security forces and hired thugs. (Thierry Falise) A man says: "Thirty people have been killed at the Sule Pagoda," and we rush back downtown. The report turns out to be untrue, but the whole area is infested with soldiers and policemen. I see two large blood stains and dozens of slippers on the road, and I'm told "a Caucasian journalist has been killed." Later, it's confirmed that a Japanese photojournalist was shot dead. At a large intersection near the central railway station, a small group of monks has emerged from nowhere. In a few minutes, thousands of people gather around them and start to walk on a nearby bridge. Soldiers suddenly appear from the bridge's sides and shoot at us. Run…run! Everyone must run for their lives. 
Friday, September 28— Crowds defy the military troops in several parts of Rangoon. Groups of people try to reactivate demonstrations but each time, security forces come and separate them. Downtown, dozens of protesters have been arrested, bound and beaten. The troops pursue fleeing people into buildings, singling out those with cameras. Trucks loaded with troops raid the offices of Burma's main Internet service provider, Myanmar Info-Tech, located at Rangoon University's Hlaing campus around noon in an effort to cut all public access to the Internet. The move is in response to the flood of photographs, videos, news reports and e-mails sent out of the country to the international media and the rest of the world by Burmese citizens. Burma is returning to the dark ages.  Saturday, September 29—Security forces are now playing cat and mouse with us foreign journalists. Whenever we approach a group of civilians, they start to move towards us, starting a panic. In one incident, we run down from a bridge and take shelter in a monastery, hidden by the monks.  In the late afternoon, I return with two other journalists to the Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery. There are only a few old monks left. First we pretend to be tourists but when we start to ask less innocuous questions we are faced with embarrassed looks. A big man, faking sympathy and interest, shows up. USDA, I guess. Four military trucks appear and soldiers deploy around the monastery. We rush into a taxi. Later I learn that UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has arrived in Rangoon and is being briefed by UN officials. He heads immediately to the capital, Naypyidaw, to meet with the military leaders. Burma's state-run media announces that junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe is prepared to meet Suu Kyi, while the UN Security Council discusses the Burma situation. The Security Council issues a unanimous statement saying it "strongly deplores" the regime's violent crackdown—yet the arrests and intimidation continue regardless.  (Additional reporting by Yeni) The post Saffron Revolution: A Rangoon Diary appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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