As Myanmar's regime cracks down on a growing protest movement, "citizen journalists" are breaking the news to the world. Thanks to independent bloggers and the internet, the Junga may have stopped the foreign correspondents and the local news reports, but the truth shall be revealed.
A publication in New Delhi received an sms at 1:30pm yesterday afternoon which read "There is a tourist shot down" in Yangon, the center of recent protests by Buddhist monks and others against the military junta in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Troops there were clearing the streets, telling protesters they had just minutes to go home -- or be shot. The sms is from an unknown person, believed to be one of the more than 100 students, activists and ordinary citizens who have been feeding foreign publishers with reports, images and video of the violent events unfolding in recent days.
Another blog was updated at 3 p.m. Myanmar time yesterday with a few English lines: "Right now they're using fire engines and hitting people and dragging them onto E2000 trucks and most of them are girls and people are shouting." Below the post is a blurry photo of trucks with the caption, "This is how they come out and try to kill people."
Technology is truly keeping the world abreast of the horrible situation in Yangon. Nations of the world have been sending appeals to the military government of Myanmar to stop all these atrocities. The government of Myanmar went so far as to accuse the foreign reporters of sensationalizing the situation in their conuntry. Well, pictures don't lie, only humans.
Demonstration in Paris
As I was checking for updates, I found a site where it was reported that the Parisians were holding peaceful demonstration outside the Burmese embassy since yesterday.
Demonstration in Kuala Lumpur
Whilst reading the article, I received a mail from my friend Billy, informing me that Andrew Ong also posted his article on another peaceful demonstration at our own back yard. Andrew's article mentioned that about 2,000 people flooded the Burmese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur this morning in protest against the violent military crackdown in Burma.
A sea of people, all clad in red, gathered at Jalan Ampang as early as 9.45am after arriving on chartered buses and marched about half a kilometre to the embassy located in Jalan Ru.
The crowd made up of Burmese - including those from minority ethnic groups - sang their national anthem followed by loud chanting of anti-junta and pro-democracy slogans.
Similar protests were held later at the curbside opposite the Chinese and Russian embassies, both located nearby along Jalan Ampang.
Both countries are known to be close allies of the Burmese miltary government which ended democratic rule of the resource-rich country in 1962 during a military coup.
Traffic along the normally busy Jalan Ampang was brought to a snarl as motorists slowed down to witness the protest.
Protesters dispersed peacefully at about 11.30am on after their representatives handed a protest note to the Russian Embassy representatives. The note demanded that Russian and China end their support for the military junta.
There was no untoward incident reported during the orderly demonstration. It is believed to be one of the biggest demonstrations in Malaysia organised by foreigners.
Dozens of police personnel were seen in crowd and traffic control efforts. Cheras district police chief ACP Rusli Ahmad who led the police operation declined comment when approached.
“This protest is to let the world know that the evil government has cracked down on monks... We want the international community to stop that. We urge the UN to stop that,” said Kyaw (National League for Democracy spokeperson) in a AFP report.
According to AFP, nine more people were killed yesterday including a Japanese journalist and hundreds more arrested in a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
The above was extracted from Andrew's post.
Demonstration in London, Germany & around the world
At 10:21AM Friday September 28, 2007, the military junta in Myanmar is desperately trying to stem the flow information about the country's turmoil to the rest of the world. Website mizzima.com says the authorities have blocked popular blogs that have been continuously posting news and photographs of the violence against monks and protesters.Popular domestic Myanmar blogs Kohitke and Niknayman have been blocked from uploading further content today.
The ruling junta has also blocked phones belonging to politicians, reporters for local and foreign media and even student activists. Government owned MPT and Bagan Cyber Tech blocked the websites and blogs to restrict and ban the free flow of information in and out of Burma, said mizzima.com.
The BBC, which has a Burmese language Web site and radio service, is encouraging its audience to send in photos, like the ones it received of a monk's monastery that had been ransacked by authorities. A shaky video, now on YouTube, shows a sea of chanting and clapping monks draped in red robes marching down a street, past Buddhist monuments. One blog features a photo showing two abandoned, bloodstained sandals.
Just read this off Lotusinthemud's blog...
"....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."
The Truth Shall Prevail & the Meek (Humble) Shall Rule the World.
