[permaculture] News to follow in coming weeks: Monks lead pro-democracy protests in Burma (Myanmar)

Lawrence F. London, Jr. lflj at intrex.net
Mon Sep 17 06:36:00 EDT 2007


http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/17/myanmar.monks.ap/index.html
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Monks have vandalized shops of those supporting the dictatorship in Myanmar, briefly taken 
local officials hostage and are now threatening to launch a boycott as early as Tuesday against the military leaders and 
their families.

Buddhist monks walk along a street during morning alms in Yangon, Myanmar, on September 10.

Nearly a month into the worst demonstrations to hit Myanmar in decades, the saffron-robed Buddhist clergy are emerging 
as the focal point of the anti-government protests. With dozens of pro-democracy activists behind bars or in hiding, 
most people are counting on monks -- who have a role in almost all aspects of society from weddings to funerals -- to 
take the lead in challenging the repressive regime in the mostly Buddhist country.

"Monks are our only hope now as they always have been in Myanmar political history," said Hla Myint, a 75-year-old 
schoolteacher. "The military rulers can easily crush protests by students and other people. But brutal suppression of 
monks usually results in negative consequences and further protests."

Much of the talk on the streets of big cities like Yangon is on a Monday deadline set by monks for the regime to 
apologize for beating hundreds of them two weeks ago as they marched and chanted Buddhist prayers peacefully in Pakokku, 
a center of Buddhist learning.

Without an apology, monks across the country have threatened to march Tuesday from their monasteries, cut off 
communication with the military and their families and refuse alms -- a humiliating gesture that will likely embarrass 
the junta.

"What the (junta) did in Pakokku is unforgivable. The monks are frustrated and angry," said Zin Linn, information 
minister for the Washington-based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, which is Burma's government-in-exile.

"This boycott is significant because other underground labor unions, underground student unions and activists are 
calling on one another to join the boycott," he said. "I expect the demonstrations will grow bigger than ever. People 
may join with the monks and we may see chaos and disorder."

A chief abbot at a Yangon monastery said the boycott will have a symbolic importance in the ongoing struggle against the 
junta.

"In a staunchly Buddhist country, such a boycott is the most severe form of punishment for a Buddhist," said the abbot, 
who refused to be identified for fear of reprisals. "The boycott brings extreme shame to the ruling junta and should be 
taken seriously."
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Monks in Myanmar, also known as Burma, have historically been at the forefront of protests -- first against British 
colonialism and later military dictatorship. They also played a prominent part in the failed 1988 pro-democracy 
rebellion that sought an end to military rule, imposed since 1962. The uprising was brutally crushed by the military and 
thousands were killed.

This time around, the military regime has appeared nervous and indecisive in its dealings with the monks.

Since protests broke out August 19 after the government hiked fuel prices by as much as 500 percent, it detained dozens 
of pro-democracy activists and cut off the phone lines as the country's main opposition group the National League for 
Democracy or NLD.

But it has yet to arrest any monks, preferring a mix of heavy-handed threats, gentle persuasion and outright pleas to 
convince the estimated half-million Buddhist clergy to stay off the streets.

It stepped up surveillance around monasteries in major cities to keep young monks in check and order monks to remain in 
some monasteries. It has accused them in newspaper articles of being tools of the NLD and other government critics who 
want to overthrow the government.

"Exploiting these situations, some are trying to disrupt the prevailing peace, stability and law-and-order and the 
momentum of development and to derail the seven-step road map," the government said, blaming everyone from foreign 
governments to troublesome monks for fueling the protests.

But last week, in an evident attempt to improve its image, high-ranking officials have been making high-profile 
donations of cooking oil and other donations to Buddhist monasteries, according to the state-controlled press. Making 
donations to temples is a traditional way of showing respect.

Experts appear divided over whether the monks can persuade the public to join the protests -- partly because civil 
servants have been removed to the new capital in the remote town of Naypyitaw, while universities have been moved out of 
Yangon and other big cities to sideline students.

Some experts said monks could persuade rural residents to get involved because they hold such sway in the countryside as 
well as elements of the military, who feel they would be unfairly slandered by the boycott.

"This could also create divisions in the military," said Soe Aung, spokesman for the pro-democracy group National 
Council of the Union of Burma, which is based in Thailand. "The majority of the military is already suffering from the 
mismanagement of the economy."

But other experts argued that fear will likely trump the boldest of actions by the monks, with many citizens afraid to 
challenge a military with a history of brutality.

"The military is much stronger than they have ever been in Burmese history," said David Steinberg, a Myanmar expert at 
Georgetown University in Washington.




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