Off Topic but important Burma fights for Democracy

This important as it is the struggle for the Indigenous people of Burma and their fight for justice which is the same struggle the Western Shoshone (Newe)people face. Fortunately the US government has not resorted to killing as a method of stopping the Western Shoshone as they attempt to reclaim their homelands, at this time. Please help the Burmese people in any way that you are able!!!
Burma: 'net cut as brutal crackdown worsens

Posted by Xeni Jardin, September 28, 2007 9:10 AM | # | Discuss (7)

Kathryn Cramer says,

CNN is reporting that Myanmar has cut Internet access and also reports "Unconfirmed reports of bodies in the streets, protesters shot." and "New video appears to show point blank shooting of protester in Yangon."

As a clarification, and no surprise here: officials in the military regime controlling Burma (Myanmar) still have internet access, regular folks do not.


BB reader Dave Hecht adds

The NYT's Lede blog has pretty extensive coverage of Burmese military junta's shutdown of public internet and other communications channels. We must be living in the future if to stop a revolution, the government needs to shutdown the Internet. The Times page has links to blogs, some of which are still up, some which are ominously blacked out. Link.


Image above from the photostream of Jim Rees, who explains:

With Burma in the news lately I thought I'd post this photo of this sign that greeted me when I visited in 1989, a year after the coup that brought the current military leadership to power. This is on the Thai side of the border just outside Mae Sai.

At that time the new Burmese government, short of cash and not wanting anyone to observe conditions inside the country, was asking over $500 just to get in. This part of northern Burma was not really under government control, it was a stronghold for the KNU. You could sneak over the border from Thailand and get a brief look at the other side, but this was officially discouraged and there were stories of people being kidnapped or thrown in jail. I didn't go very far.

Here's a recent BBC report about Burmese bloggers, and press freedom inside Burma (hint -- there isn't any): Link.

That story points to London-based blogger Ko Htike, who has been posting reports on behalf of people inside Burma. Htike's blog is mostly in Burmese, but with some English and lots of pictures, including the image re-posted here, below.

Update: BB reader John Gale points out that this appears to be Japanese reporter Kenji Nagai. "The report over on BBC suggests that he was targeted and possibly shot at point blank range because he was holding a camera."


Here, on Htike's blog, photographs and first-person testimony from a man who identifies himself as a Singaporean working in Burma. The post includes graphic images of injuries he says he received at the hands of soldiers who were attacking protesters. Snip:


My wife found the "40mm riot control munnition" empty cartridge that the soldiers shoot at me. I would like the embassy and media to know the actions of this army. We are just ordinary citizen going to work and they just shot at us for no reason. Imagine what they would do to the protesters!

Marilyn Terrell says,

Ethical Traveler is offering people a place to post their messages and photos of support for the monks in Burma: Link.

Below, an image from ethicaltraveler.org of a solidarity gathering earlier today in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Posted on Friday, September 28, 2007 at 02:29PM by Registered CommenterGreg