Local Burmese nationals join in protest against military regime
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COREY ROBINSON, Observer writer
Thursday, September 27, 2007 |
A handful of Burmese nationals yesterday took to the streets of Kingston in support of their fellow countrymen who have been protesting in that South-east Asian country against military dictatorship for the past eight days.
The placard-bearing protestors stood outside the Chinese Embassy on Seaview Avenue in the scorching morning sun before moving on to the United Nations office on Lady Musgrave Road and the Seymour Road-based Indian High Commission to continue their protest.
Organised by Dr Soe Naung, who works as a medical doctor here, the protestors called for an end to China's support of the military regime.
"We believe China should do better, they have a lot of influence on the regime and we need them to help us free Burma, that's why we are here," Dr Naung told the Observer.
He accused China of supplying the regime with weapons which are used to kill civilians who protest against their actions.
At least 20 monks have been killed since the start of the protest which began last month after officials dramatically increased the price of fuel overnight, deepening the misery in the already impoverished country.
The initial protests - rare in a nation where the military quickly crushes any show of dissent - began with only a handful of marching demonstrators. But after the monks joined, the movement swelled, and around 100,000 people marched in Yangon on Monday and Tuesday.
Yesterday, security forces used batons, tear gas and live rounds in a violent crackdown on the mass protest, killing at least four people including three Buddhist monks.
The worsening situation has obviously angered Dr Naung and his fellow protestors.
"These are men of God, in our religion we are not allowed to hurt as much as an ant and these persons are firing shots and throwing tear gas at these people," Dr Naung said.
He also expressed concern over what he said was a move by India to develop relations with the regime, saying that the country had even started making plans to enter into a gas deal with Burma.
"This will only fuel the brutality of the regime," a concerned Dr Naung said, accusing the regime of ruling through fear.
He said those who took part in yesterday's protest also fear that their families would be killed or imprisoned if the government gained knowledge of their action.
They have since called on the United Nations, Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the people of Jamaica to help fight for Burma's freedom, saying the country has been failing under the ruling dictatorship.
"We lost our independence in 1962, the same year that Jamaica gained theirs. Since then the country has fallen. Burma is ranked 190th from 190 countries in a survey done by the World Health Organisation and scored 0 per cent in surveys regarding the governance of the country," Dr Naung said. (See related story on Page 13)
- Additional reporting by AFP
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Burmese community hosts candlelight vigil
published: Monday | October 8, 2007
Gareth Manning, Gleaner
Members of the Burmese community light a candle at a vigil to honour the sacrifice of Buddhist monks in recent pro-democracy protests in Burma. The vigil was held at Emancipation Park in New Kingston on Saturday night.
- Nathaniel Stewart/Freelance Photographer
On Saturday sympathetic countries across the globe showed support for Burmese anti-government protests in rallies staged in 30 cities.
Home to some 300 Burmese expatriates, Jamaica was not left out. Kingston was one of those 30 cities that showed its support, as the Burmese community, religious and human rights groups and several ordinary Jamaicans, came out for a candlelight vigil in Emancipation Park, New Kingston, to honour Buddhist monks who sacrificed themselves in the recent pro-democracy protests.
Wearing anti-military symbols, Burmese expatriates used the opportunity to denounce the rule of the junta and advocate for the freedom of Burmese democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for some 16 years for her resistance to the military dictatorship.
As many as 10 monks have been killed by the security forces in crackdowns in recent protests, while 10,000 persons - many of them monks - have been rounded up for interrogation.
Frustrated with the rule of the military, Buddhist monks joined the cause of former student activists and staged peaceful pro-democracy protests in the streets of the capital, Rangoon, in August this year, against a recent hike in fuel prices.
The former activists were recently freed after nearly 20 years of imprisonment for their role in the 1988 anti-government protests.
--- gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com
(The above info. was taken from Local Jamaican News Papers Observer and Gleaner respectively.)
