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Stories related to: Burma protest

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16 Stories

August 2008
- Out of the Cyclone, Seeds of Change in Burma
  
  New Yorker | Aug 23, 08 6:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In the wake of the ruling junta's efforts to waylay foreign aid following May's Cyclone Nargis, Burmese citizens—including former political prisoners—created a grass-roots relief effort to help the embattled populace. In doing so, writes George Packer in the New Yorker , they may have created the catalyst for long-awaited political change in a once-prosperous nation impoverished by its military rulers. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • Cyclone Nargis • military junta • Burma protest • political prisoner • Democratic Voice of Burma
February 2008
- Burma's Pens Mightier Than Censors
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Feb 13, 08 1:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Never shy about censorship, Burma has cracked down even more since September's monk uprising—no small event in a country that ranks 164th out of 168 on the Press Freedom Index. But information-starved citizens are finding creative ways to circumvent an extreme government that bans even benign news about soccer team losses, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More »
  
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  Burma • censorship • Burma protest • monks • poetry • Democratic Voice of Burma
December 2007
- Burmese Junta Downplays Protest Death Toll: Report
  
  CNN | Dec 7, 07 1:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The quashing of pro-democracy demonstrations in September was significantly bloodier than the Burmese junta claims, says a Human Rights Watch report released today. Although the government acknowledges only 10 deaths during the suppression of the protests, 20 killings have been verified by eyewitnesses in Yangon alone, and the rights group projects a much higher total, CNN reports. More »
  
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  United Nations • Burma • Myanmar • junta • Burma protest • Human Rights Watch
October 2007
- Supporters Rally for Suu Kyi
  
  BBC | Oct 24, 07 6:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Protests are in progress in front of 12 Chinese embassies around the world today to mark the 12th anniversary of the incarceration of Burmese political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Six fellow female laureates also have written an open letter, published in today's Guardian , asking the UN to work harder for the release of Suu Kyi. More »
  
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  China • United Nations • Burma • Myanmar • Aung San Suu Kyi • Burma protest • Nobel Peace Prize • Ibrahim Gambari
- Bush Tightens Sanctions on Burma
  
  Reuters | Oct 19, 07 7:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Bush expanded sanctions against Burma today, citing the junta's ongoing "vicious persecution" of protesters. Acknowledging the limits of US influence, he called on India, China and other neighbors to put pressure on the military regime he accused of "ongoing atrocities," Reuters reports. The new sanctions include a freeze on US assets of individuals and groups, and a ban on the sale of high-performance computers to Burma. More »
  
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  George W. Bush • Burma • Myanmar • Burma protest • economic sanctions
- Burma's Blood Rubies Lift Junta
  
  Der Spiegel | Oct 16, 07 9:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Precious Burmese rubies account for 90% of the world's supply, and fund that nation's brutal military junta, according to Der Spiegel. Though some dealers maintain that ruby sales support the opposition, the German paper reports that profits instead go straight to the junta's coffers. Not only that, but gem miners (including children) work under hellish conditions where bosses mix amphetamines into drinking water to improve yield. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • Burma protest • blood diamonds
- Myanmar Junta: 'You Are No Longer Monks'
  
  Reuters | Oct 11, 07 12:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Buddhist monks rounded up in protests in Myanmar faced torturous conditions, a recent detainee told Reuters. During days of interrogation, monks were beaten and denied medical treatment, water, and toilets. Prisoners were stripped of their iconic robes. “You are no longer a monk,” a guard told the prisoner, slapping him. “You are just an ordinary man with a shaven head.” More »
  
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  Burma • torture • Myanmar • junta • Buddhist monks • prisoners • Burma protest
- Burma Confiscates Phones, Computers to Silence News
  
  Guardian (UK) | Oct 9, 07 4:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Burmese government is cutting the last lines of communication with the outside world, confiscating satellite phones and computers that reporters and bloggers were using to spread news of the violent repression of pro-democracy protests. Officials even demanded to see permits for satellite phones at a United Nations office. Authorities also searched other offices in a Rangoon hotel and office building for equipment. More »
  
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  United Nations • Burma • protests • Myanmar • computer • Buddhist monks • Burma protest • satellite phones
- Burmese Streets Quiet; Monks to be 'Sent Away'
  
  BBC | Oct 1, 07 12:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The violent Burmese government crackdown appeared successful as heavily-armed police patrolled the quieted streets of Yangon today, and the BBC reported that some 4,000 detained monks were to be vanquished to prisons in the far north. BBC correspondents say the populace is afraid and helpless after riots that left 10 dead by government count—and many more by diplomat and activist reckoning. More »
  
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  Burma • Buddhist monks • Burma protest • Yangon
September 2007
- UN Envoy Lands in Myanmar
  
  Reuters | Sep 29, 07 6:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Troops faced off with several hundred pro-democracy protesters again today in central Yangon as a UN envoy arrived in Myanmar to try to persuade military rulers to negotiate peacefully with demonstrators. There were scattered reports of violence, but no gunfire. With soldiers stationed on every corner and shopping malls, grocery stores, and public parks closed, few residents ventured outside, Reuters reports. More »
  
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  Myanmar • Burma protest
- Violent Face-Off Rages in Burma
  
  Guardian (UK) | Sep 28, 07 4:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters continued after a bloody confrontation yesterday when soldiers shot dead at least nine people, including a Japanese news photographer. Troops again opened fire on demonstrators today, cut internet connections and sealed monasteries as crowds defied orders from the ruling military junta to disperse. Five monasteries were sealed with barbed-wire barricades guarded by soldiers. More »
  
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  Burma • Buddhist monks • Yasuo Fukuda • Burma protest
- 9 Killed in Burmese Crackdown
  
  Reuters | Sep 27, 07 12:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burmese troop forcibly scattered some 70,000 protesters for a second day today, with gunfire claiming the lives of at least nine—even as leaders around the world called for restraint. One of the dead is reportedly a Japanese photographer, spawning fears that the junta is targeting journalists to prevent news coverage. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • junta • Buddhist monks • Burma protest • Yangon
- Burmese Junta Rounds Up 200 Monks in Midnight Raids
  
  Guardian (UK) | Sep 27, 07 5:03 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Burmese military junta has once again opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in Rangoon and rounded up hundreds of monks in midnight raids on monasteries, the Guardian reports. It was not immediately known if anyone was injured. As many as 200 police officers and soldiers later marched through the streets with loudspeakers warning anyone who didn't leave that they risked being shot, according to Reuters. More »
  
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  junta • Aung San Suu Kyi • Buddhist monks • Burma protest • Rangoon
- Junta Issues Curfew to Stem Protests
  
  BBC | Sep 25, 07 6:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burma issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew and warned it will crack down on any large meetings, but protesters still marched by the tens of thousands today. The junta also sent out armed troops and declared it time to "take action," raising fears that it will repeat its 1988 crackdown, in which soldiers killed 3,000 people, the BBC reports. More »
  
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  Burma • democracy • junta • Buddhist monks • Burma protest • Buddhism • Rangoon • Mandalay • Buddhist nuns
- Burma's Monks Defy Crackdown
  
  Associated Press | Sep 25, 07 6:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Pro-democracy protests in Myanmar continued for an eighth day today, with tens of thousands of Buddhist monks, joined by students, taking to the streets in Yangon in defiance of government orders. The ruling junta threatened Monday night to crack down on the demonstrations, instructing the monks to return to their monasteries, the AP reports. More »
  
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  Burma • Myanmar • junta • Buddhist monks • Burma protest
- Burmese Protest Swells to 20K
  
  BBC | Sep 23, 07 2:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Buddhist monks and nuns are at the helm of Burma's 'largest' anti-government protest since the failed student uprising in 1988. An estimated 20,000 took to the streets today in the seventh day of demonstrations for lower prices, an end to the ruling military junta, and release of political prisoners. The mood in Rangoon is euphoric, reports the BBC. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Burma • Aung San Suu Kyi • Buddhist monks • Burma protest • Buddhist nuns