Myanmar: Terror Regime
p2pnet news | Freedom:- We have problems with our governments and leaders and rapacious corporations desperately using every trick they can come up with to sell us stuff we don’t want and don’t need. But if we let them get away with it, which we do, it’s our fault.
However, in too many parts of the world, people don’t have the luxury of being able say that.
They have to fight to live freely and say what they think without fear.
Myanmar is one such country ruled, as it is, by a clique of generals – a military junta whose members believe they can do what bay want and the world will let them be.
Thousands of the country’s Buddhist have been leading protests and the signs are that they’re now being routinely brutalised and even murdered.
However, thanks largely to blogs and websites, images and information on the horrors which are now everyday occurrences continue to leak out.
Says Burma Digest:
The Bloggers from Burma: You Are Truly Ours
The journalists in free press environment have a moral duty to praise and encourage the courageous acts of bloggers inside Burma who risk their lives to inform us about the uprising with words and images. It is no use hiding behind the ethics of impartiality and depends entirely upon factual news reportage. The ethics also include standing on the side of humanity and distancing themselves from inhumane/evil acts.
The Burma Digest in past issues has welcomed the use of proxy servers by the Internet users in the country. The brave bloggers, predominantly our younger brothers and sisters, have proved the proxy servers to be useful. These bloggers are not part of the ‘horse riding’ Burmese journalist elite who live in the West under the luxury of freedom of speech and expression and cast doubts on people’s uprising. They enable us to consume news free of charge on our desktops and I certainly don’t take it lightly
These first two photos are posted on Mizzima News.
“Burmese security forces in Rangoon continue rampant crackdown interrogating and arresting people on suspicion,” says a post today and yesterday, “Security envelopes Rangoon with riot police and soldiers scouring the city with photographs in their hand to arrest participants in last weeks protests, which posed a direct threat to nearly half a century of military rule in Burma.
“While security forces had earlier conducted random searches on the streets among passers by, local residents said, authorities have stepped up the hunt by distributing pictures of protesters and arresting them on sight.
“They [authorities] distributed pictures of those who had participated in the protests to different township authorities and they in turn raided houses of people who had taken part and arrested them,” a local resident, who requested anonymity, told Mizzima.
Back online
The Irrawaddy was shut down thanks to a mysterious virus probably planted by supporters of the ruling regime. But it now posts:
Dear Irrawaddy Supporters,
We would like to inform you that The Irrawaddy Web site was restored to its normal operation starting October 3. You can now access all of our regular sections including our archives. The Web site was impaired by a virus starting on September 27.
We offer our sincere thanks and deep appreciation to our supporters who wrote to us, offering any assistance we needed to restore the Web site. We also apologize if we failed to reply to your message.
Please be assured that you can not receive a virus by browsing our Web site. It is safe and secure. We look forward to providing you with independent news, commentary, video and photographs that accurately reflect events and life in Burma today.
The Irrawaddy Team
A report today states:
“According to the 88 Generation Students group and the National League for Democracy, at least 130 deaths occurred nationwide and about 3,000 monks and their supporters have been arrested since the peaceful demonstrations started in August 19.
“Dissident groups, however, put the figures higher, saying at least 200 people have died and about 6,000 people have been arrested.”
Students get hard labour
“About 50 students from Mandalay have been sentenced to five years` imprisonment in a hard labour camp, according to family members,” says the Democratic Voice of Burma site, going on:
“The students were arrested by the Burmese authorities in connection with last month`s protests and have been sent to a hard labour prison work camp in Sagaing division.
“A judicial official in Mandalay confirmed to DVB that the students had been brought before the court and sentenced before being sent to Kabaw prison work camp in Sagaing. Orders for the move were given to officials by the Minister of Industry, Aung Thaung.”
But these two cartoons from Ko Htike’s Prosaic Collection say it all —-
These are just a a few examples of the images and reports you can find online in English, Burmese and other languages.
Without the Net, a significant number of voices would be stifled.
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