ABIGAIL CIRELLI | staff writer
WITH AP SOURCES

International Burmese student speaks on the violent suppression of Myanmar monk protests of the military government.

Protestors were shot dead in the streets of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, during demonstrations against the militaristic government known as junta. Peaceful demonstrations led by students and Buddhist monks turned deadly when junta violently repressed the uprisings. Brutal attacks and arrests have continued since the initial uprisings in August. Many Buddhist monks, among others, have been tortured and killed.

After the Myanmar government raised the country’s fuel prices in August by 500%, leading to inflation, a pro-democracy student group protested the government action and was quickly arrested.

In September, a group of monks joined the protests; one was arrested, beaten and tortured. Word of this arrest quickly spread throughout the monasteries, and 200,000 Buddhists monks took to the streets. Thousands of others marched with them.

“Because people have trust in the monks, when they saw 200,000 monks united, daring to do this, they were like why shouldn’t we do this,” sophomore business administration major Sim Thang said. Thang is an international student from Burma.

Within a few days, the military government began firing into the crowds, reportedly killing 200 people and arresting at least 6,000.

“It’s a socialist and military government, you can’t just go and protest,” Thang said.

In 1988 there was another massive anti-government Burmese uprising during which 3,000 people were killed and the government shut down the country’s airports. Thang’s mother, who was supposed to be visiting for the entire month of October, returned to Burma only two days after she arrived in the U.S., because she was afraid the situation would mirror the events of 1988.

The regime shuts out anyone from coming in and investigating.

“There are huge difficulties. It’s a closed police state,” a consultant with Human Rights Watch in Thailand, David Matheson said.

Witness accounts include monks floating dead down the river and massacre in the streets. All the monasteries in the city have been shut down. The government has been arresting continuously since the uprising. 6,000 people reportedly remain in detention centers. A few who have been released testify that guards at detention centers in Myanmar beat, kick and slash protesters, leaving prisoners to die of internal injuries due to beating.

The casualties include men, women and children. The government is arresting anyone who was in the downtown area at the time of the demonstrations. They include the monks, the pro-democracy activists and ordinary people.

On Oct. 13, Amnesty International said the authorities have caught their most-wanted man, U Htay Kywe, 39 a former student leader of 88 Generation Student Group.

Thang said he was shocked that religious, peaceful monks would protest.

“Once you see 200,000 all lined up and protesting you’re like wow . . . even if you’re not Buddhist you can really feel how much this really means to them, you know? And when I saw them protesting outside, I was like, okay, something is definitely going to change,” he said.

“I would never expect the military to shoot their own monks. I don’t know how they did it, but I can’t imagine them shooting—their own people it’s fine because it’s the people, you know—but they worship the monks. They literally bow down and pay homage to them, and they just started firing at them,” he said.

The government is releasing propaganda through their mouthpiece newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar. Myanmar authorities said weapons had been seized from Buddhist monasteries.

They report the death toll at 10 people, although witnesses report the number much higher.

The New Light of Myanmar characterized the anti-government event as “stooges of foreign countries putting on a play written by their foreign masters,” and blame western ideas and media for inciting riot.

The United Nations Security Council released a statement, indicating it “strongly deplores” the use of violence against demonstrators in Myanmar, and “emphasizes the importance” of the early release of political prisoners and detainees and urges the government to “create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue” with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader.

The government claims to be arranging talks with 62-year-old Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years without trial.

United States said that it would push for U.N. sanctions against Myanmar if the government fails to move toward democracy.

Global protests have taken place, including one in Los Angeles.

In Burma, the people still fight for their voice. During the demonstrations, a 6am to 9pm curfew was enforced. In response, at 8pm when the state run television news is on, all the houses turned off not only their television sets, but every light in the house.

Social gatherings of over five people are prohibited, so people have been getting street dogs, tying pictures of Myanmar’s General Than-Shwe around their necks and letting them run around, forcing the soldiers to chase dogs.

“It’s a way of mocking. Even though you keep us quiet there are still other ways of demonstrating, you know? So now they’re killing street dogs,” Thang said.

Thang, whose parents are both pastors and live 30 minutes from downtown Yangon, said the Burmese Christians have been praying and fasting for the situation.
He has given updates on the situation in International Chapel and the students have joined in prayer for Burma during International Chapel’s Prayer for a Nation.