Protests in Burma

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September 2008
- Young Burmese Monks Ready to Take Up Arms
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Sep 20, 08 6:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After seeing nonviolent protesters killed or detained in last year’s protests against the ruling junta, younger segments of Burma’s Buddhist monks are becoming more radical, embracing armed resistance and overt dissent, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "We need weapons,” one young monk said. “That is the only way we can bring down this regime." More »
August 2008
- Suu Kyi Rejects Food Deliveries, Sparks Rumors of Hunger Strike
  
  Associated Press | Aug 26, 08 12:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has refused food deliveries to her house for two weeks, prompting speculation that she is on a hunger strike against the government, the AP reports. Supporters say she's grown increasingly frustrated with the UN's failure to intervene in the junta-ruled nation—the Nobel Prize laureate refused to meet with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his visit last week. More »
- 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 »
- Burma Indicts Dissident Comedian
  
  Associated Press | Aug 7, 08 9:54 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - A popular comedian who became one of the most prominent critics of Burma's military government has been formally charged with several political offenses. Zarganar, who had been leading a citizen effort to aid victims of Cyclone Nargis, has been indicted on five counts, including unlawful association and creating public unrest. More »
June 2008
- Activist Suu Kyi Should be Flogged: Burma Junta
  
  Reuters | Jun 11, 08 4:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Official media controlled by Burma's junta said today that Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy leader and Nobel laureate, deserves to be flogged "as in the case of naughty children." Editorials in several Burmese newspapers accused Suu Kyi of being in the pay of rebel guerrillas and foreign governments, Reuters reports. The victor of Burma's 1990 democratic election has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years. More »
May 2008
- Canadians Bully Burmese Junta With... Panties?
  
  Sify.com | May 28, 08 10:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - When international pressure fails, try… underwear? Canadian women think they can change the Myanmar junta’s ways by mailing a steady stream of panties to the Myanmar embassy in Ottawa, Sify reports. The military dictators apparently harbor a superstitious fear that touching a woman’s undergarment will “rob them of their power,” according to Panties for Peace!, the organization coordinating the movement. More »
- Burma Relief Effort Belies Need
  
  Times (UK) | May 27, 08 4:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burma's junta would have one believe it's got the situation under control in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and even has a test-case diorama as evidence for foreign envoys, the Times of London reports. Sinkan refugee camp hosts 180 well-fed, healthy inhabitants in clean blue tents—while 10 minutes down the road, destitution, sickness and homelessness are everywhere. More »
April 2008
- Myanmar Activist Wins Congressional Gold Medal
  
  Reuters | Apr 25, 08 2:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Senate has voted overwhelmingly to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, reports Reuters. Politicians praised her courage, and said the award was a gesture of solidarity with the oppressed Burmese people. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate remains under house arrest in Rangoon, a prisoner of Myanmar's military junta, which violently put down pro-democracy protests last year. More »
February 2008
- Burmese Rebel Leader Assassinated in Thailand
  
  Reuters | Feb 14, 08 11:51 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - One of Myanmar's top rebel leaders was shot dead in his home in Thailand today, Reuters reports. Mahn Sha Lar Phan was the secretary-general of the Karen National Unit, the largest rebel group in the former Burma. His son, another senior leader, immediately blamed the attack on a splinter group allied with Burma's ruling junta. More »
- 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 »
- Burma Pledges Free Elections in 2010
  
  Reuters | Feb 9, 08 4:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The military junta in Burma said today the nation will have multiparty, democratic elections in 2010, Reuters reports. Opposition leaders greeted the decision with a heavy dose of skepticism and charged that even if the vote goes through, the military will not release its grip on power. The regime has been under heavy international pressure for reform since its violent crackdown on protesters in the fall. More »
January 2008
- Burma Horrors 'Continue in Secret'
  
  Associated Press | Jan 4, 08 5:56 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Tensions have eased in Burma's cities since the September crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, but aid groups and rebels say brutal atrocities continue in remote areas far from media scrutiny, AP reports. Government forces are murdering, raping and burning their way through ethnic minority areas, according to reports. Villages have been destroyed and many thousands of people displaced. More »
December 2007
- Gems That Bankroll Burma Junta Remain on Sale in US
  
  New Republic | Dec 18, 07 7:24 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Congress is moving to close a loophole in a law that forbids the sale of rubies from Burma, but the measure comes too late for the holiday shopping season, writes Marin Cogan of the New Republic . That means US shoppers—unless they take pains to question their jewelry shop's policy—will be helping prop up the military junta that only months ago brutally cracked down on protesting monks. More »
- 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 »
- Burma Frees Thousands in Nod to United Nations
  
  Associated Press | Dec 4, 07 3:29 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Burma's military junta has freed 8,585 prisoners but it's not clear if any of those arrested in September's crackdown are among them, AP reports. Burmese state media said the amnesty was to mark progress on drafting a new constitution, and a gesture to the United Nations. Similar amnesties in the past have freed common criminals rather than political prisoners. More »
November 2007
- UN Visitor Not Keeping Burma From Arrests
  
  Guardian (UK) | Nov 14, 07 2:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Burma's military junta has continued to detain protesters even as a UN human-rights investigator visits to probe September's crushed uprising, the Guardian reports. Three men distributing pro-democracy leaflets in a Rangoon market were arrested today; a leading female activist was detained yesterday as she posted fliers near the investigator's hotel—raising doubts about progress reported by a previous UN visitor. More »
- UN Inspector Vows to Tally Burma's Dead
  
  Associated Press | Nov 11, 07 6:19 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A UN inspector landed in Burma today to tally the junta's detained and dead protesters, the AP reports. And he vowed to leave if officials don't give him "full cooperation." So far, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has met with officials and visited a town where the junta targeted monks in its September crackdown. He also plans to visit prisons and detention centers in his first visit to Burma in four years. More »
- Suu Kyi Sees Hope for Burma Peace
  
  AFP | Nov 9, 07 9:41 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Aung San Suu Kyi expressed hope for a peaceful end to Burma's strife today after meeting with her party for the first time in 3 years and with a representative of the ruling junta, AFP repor

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Stories

Young Burmese Monks Ready to Take Up Arms

Suu Kyi Rejects Food Deliveries, Sparks Rumors of Hunger Strike

Out of the Cyclone, Seeds of Change in Burma

Burma Indicts Dissident Comedian

Activist Suu Kyi Should be Flogged: Burma Junta

Canadians Bully Burmese Junta With... Panties?

Burma Relief Effort Belies Need

Myanmar Activist Wins Congressional Gold Medal

Burmese Rebel Leader Assassinated in Thailand

Burma's Pens Mightier Than Censors

Burma Pledges Free Elections in 2010

Burma Horrors 'Continue in Secret'

Gems That Bankroll Burma Junta Remain on Sale in US

Burmese Junta Downplays Protest Death Toll: Report

Burma Frees Thousands in Nod to United Nations

UN Visitor Not Keeping Burma From Arrests

UN Inspector Vows to Tally Burma's Dead

Suu Kyi Sees Hope for Burma Peace