Current Events Watch

Yeah, we watched for awhile. But our attention span is rather short, so, it rather seems that Burma may have kind of dropped off the map. Or is it Myanmar? Maybe I’m looking at the wrong map. In any event, let’s move it along already. We’re ready for a new Developing Story, or the latest Breaking News.

Admittedly, it was quite something to behold, though. When we cared, while we were still watching: a multitude of thousands marching, peacefully protesting against a military regime that has had the country under its murderous thumb for over forty years.

What was cool, though, and the reason we watched, is that everyone loves a parade! Who doesn’t? Marching in the streets, a throng of pretty saffron-robed monks leading the pack. It was quite impressive! Kind of like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, without the balloons. Still very colorful, and we like pretty colors!

Of course there was that military junta nuisance, raining on the parade, very clear in their orders as reported by The Independent:

“People are not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches. Action will be taken against those who violate this order,” the broadcasts said.

Action was indeed taken, and continues, even if we’ve already lost interest. The pretty colors are gone (wonder where they went?) and now the rest of the pack is just, well … rather bland.

Demonstrations are always newsworthy, of course. Good for ratings, and make for some most excellent video footage. Particularly when led by a group so colorfully clad! Toss into the mix some sporadic gunfire and a dead body or two and, well, you have yourself a top story.

Unfortunately, now that the pretty robes have all but disappeared, there’s really not much to hold our attention. So Burma has been relegated to D-List status. It’s still given some obligatory commentary from time to time, but its commercial appeal has apparently diminished.

Meanwhile, the action promised to be taken by the junta was indeed taken. No, it’s not quite so pretty without the saffron parades, and is, in fact, uglier than one might think.

Monasteries are empty, the monks being duly detained for proper beatings, torture and death. As is reported in the previous link, the first-hand accounts of what is currently going on is indeed harrowing. Monks crammed into a room and, between beatings, of course, living in shit. Literally.

“There were about 400 of us in one room. No toilets, no buckets, no water for washing. No beds, no blankets, no soap. Nothing,” said a 24-year-old monk who was held for 10 days at the Government Technical Institute, a leafy college in northern Rangoon which is now a prison camp for suspected dissidents … “The room was too small for everyone to lie down at once. We took it in turns to sleep. Every night at 8 o’clock we were given a small bowl of rice and a cup of water. But after a few days many of us just couldn’t eat. The smell was so bad.”

Some of the novice monks who were detained (a Buddhist monk-recruitment thing, I think … I haven’t really checked into that, but that’s not the point), were under 10 years old!

Maybe most appalling, though, is that it wasn’t only the monks and other openly dissenting demonstrators who were targeted for torture. They were willing participants, taking a stand, knowing the risks, up to and including death. Thanks to the powers-that-be’s scrupulous examination of surveillance camera footage, though, non-participants are also being dragged screaming from their homes in the middle of the night. They may have done nothing more than step out of their front door and applaud as the parade passed by (I would, I love a parade, too), or may simply have offered water to a thirsty flag-holding monk. Doesn’t matter. They, too, are being captured, no pot to piss in, no place to sleep, flogged and bloodied, along with everyone else.

At least we all paid attention for awhile. Some of us still do. Our leader George W. Bush, though, never really seemed to give a rat’s ass. I guess he does have other priorities, like his own torture agenda to attend to, so I’ll give him a break. Best to just leave it to Laura to handle. Actually, knowing Dubya, that probably was a wise decision. Even if he has other matters on his mind (mind?), and no time to ponder Burma, we can and should, even if the parade is over.

burma, myanmar, burmese monks, genocide, george bush, burma demonstrations, torture, military junta

Burma