Spanish Pundit

Members of the 88 Generation Students and other detainees who have been arrested by authorities are now being tortured in Insein interrogation center and other detention facilities.Some have been tortured to death and others have been hospitalized in serious condition, according to sources.
A source close to authorities in Insein prison told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that many prisoners are tortured and some are now hospitalized in serious condition, including Min Ko Naing, a prominent student leader. The source requested anonymity for his safety.
On August 21, Burmese authorities arrested at least 13 activists of the 88 Generation Students group, including Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Htay Win Aung, Min Zeya, Mya Aye and Kyaw Min Yu, Zeya, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe, Arnt Bwe Kyaw, Panneik Tun, Zaw Zaw Min, Thet Zaw and Nyan Lin Tun, according to the state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar.
The state-run newspaper accused them of “breaking the law guarding against acts undermining the efforts to successfully carry out peaceful transfer of State power and facilitate the proceedings of the National Convention.”

The Irrawaddy News Magazine Online Edition

More actors are arrested:

The popular Burmese film actor Kyaw Thu and his wife Myint Myint Khin Pe were arrested on Tuesday night after the authorities discovered their Rangoon hiding place.

Win Naing, Zarganar and Kyaw Thu offered alms to the monks during last month demonstrations [Photo: The Irrawaddy]

The couple had been in hiding after eluding security forces who cracked down on celebrities who supported monks in their protest demonstrations last month. Earlier reports—not, however, carried by The Irrawaddy—had suggested that Kyaw Thu had managed to escape to Thailand.

[…]”We are Buddhist. All Buddhists have to support this movement,” Kyaw Thu said during the peaceful demonstrations.

Kyaw Thu is a respected human rights activist as well as a very popular actor. He is vice-president of the Free Funeral Services Society, a social welfare organization founded in Rangoon in 2001with the aim of helping people who cannot afford funerals for their family members. It now has chapters throughout the country.

How the monks were treated:

“Due to the lack of food and the extreme highs and lows of temperature, some monks and laypeople felt like they were suffocating. Others simply died.

“The conditions were terrible. We each had no more than a small patch of cell to sit on,” lamented Burmese monk U Sandar Vaya, looking pale and weak and somewhat older than his 33 years.

U Sandar Vaya was arrested along with hundreds of other Buddhist monks at midnight on September 26. The Burmese military authorities had started arresting demonstrators that day, detained them in five locations around Rangoon—the Government Technology Institute (GTI) in Insein, the police quarters in Kyaikkasan, and police detention centers in Hmawbi, Thanlyin and Aung Thapyay, according to those people who were later released. One police official estimates that there would have been at least 1,000 monks and laypeople per detention center.

U Sandar Waya said he was incarcerated with 500 other monks and 200 civilians in one room of the GTI. The authorities gave them each only one bowl of drinking water in the first two days, later increasing the ration to three bowls. The guards didn’t allow the detainees to wash and there was no toilet, only plastic bags for sanitation.

More about the conditions for the imprisoned detainees:

imprisoned 88 Generation members have described being kept in cramped conditions in small rooms, with some standing shoulder to shoulder, unable to lie down. Prisoners have also reported a lack of toilets, clean water and adequate food supplies.

And the cremation of corpses from the repression continues: at least 200 have been burned in secret.
If the BBC was accused several days ago of being destructive to Burma by the Junta, now they are accusing the Western countries of fomenting the protests.
And the UN?? Well, as ever working hard to achieve nothing… well, is it really working at all?? UN Security Council “deplores” the repression in Burma. Wow, how hard… just as hard as the photo of Gambari with the Military Junta. RWB (RSF) agrees that this resolution is not tough at all.
The detentions continue. More detentions even. In fact, some MSM are naming the Junta’s policy as “witch-hunting“. And an special Tribunal has been created for protestors in Thayet prison. Protesting dogs are also hunted for (hmm, yes, DOGS), if they are carrying pictures of Than Shwe and other regime leaders around their necks, because “Associating anybody with a dog is a very serious insult in Burma”. In this case, the insult is for the dog.
Even the operations don’t go well in prisons (who would expect the contrary):

A member of the 88 Generation Students’ Group, Hla Myo Naung, suffered nerve damage during an unsuccessful operation while in detention, according to his colleague Soe Tun.

Hla Myo Naung was arrested on Wednesday morning when he emerged from hiding to be treated in a Rangoon clinic. According to his doctor, he was suffering from a ruptured cornea and required surgery to save his sight.

Soe Tun, also a member of the 88 Generation Students’ Group, told The Irrawaddy, “A policeman informed his wife that Hla Myo Naung had some kind of injury to his nervous system, although we don’t know exactly what happened.”

And now they are forcing villagers to march in favour of the regime.

Hundreds of villagers living on the outskirts of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, marched in support of the country’s military junta Saturday after being threatened with steep fines if they did not, a political activist leader hiding in Yangon told CNN by phone.
Nilar Thein — a key leader in the Myanmar-based group ‘88 Generation — said residents of Shwe Pyi Thar village carried pro-regime placards after junta officials on Friday demanded at least one person from each household march in the government’s rally. Junta officials also approached local factories and demanded they provide 50 workers.

Reconciliation is far away, but it’s the only path to peace in the country. And to a peaceful transition. The opposition wants to speak with the Junta but the Junta has rejected any kind of negotiation.
By the way, italian Jeweller Bulgari joins international boycott to Burmese jewels. Something that honors the firm.
China has already joined UN censorship of the Burmese Junta. It’s more publicity than anything. They are beginning to worry about a massive boycott to 2008 Olypmic Games.
And India continues with its business in Burma:

IN THE MIDST of the social turmoil in Myanmar, which saw a repressive military killing and making arbitrary arrests, India pulled off a coup of sorts to finalise the agreement for the $ 103 million Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project, which had hit a major bottleneck.

Even as Myanmar bled, India went ahead unabashedly to finalise the agreement, which envisages developing the Sittwe port in Arakan state in the neighbouring country. By its own admission India has been driven by its own interest to acquire a transit route to southeast Asian countries through Myanmar.

India and North Korea continue to sell weapons to Burma. And China, Russia and Ukraine too.
But don’t give up too easily on the Burmese “Saffron revolution“. Simple reasonings are not useful and in most cases, are not just nor truthful nor accurate:

Such arguments recall the pessimism about the Soviet bloc. Even after the wave of east European revolutions had begun in 1989, I remember watching an academic explain on British television how Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania would survive because he had forged a nation and ruled it with a rod of iron. The next day he was dead.

As I have said, we don’t know what the future will bring, it can be worse, but it can also be better. Let’s hope we are in the right path -though that “right path” is not usually the easy nor comfortable nor simple path to take”.

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No, no me he olvidado de Birmania. De hecho, quería primero linkar este post sobre la historia de Birmania de Cruzcampo, para que comprendamos un poco mejor lo que pasa ahora.La represión sigue siendo temible. Pero ahora ya no hay medios ni siquiera fotos sobre la misma.
Como ya escribí aquí mismo, varios opositores han muerto durante los interrogatorios y otros han tenido que ser hospitalizados por estar muy graves. Las torturas, como también he escrito aquí, son atroces. Y la acusación una vergüenza: han sido acusados de “quebrantar la ley que prohíbe los actos que vayan en contra de los esfuerzos para garantizar una pacífica transferencia del poder del Estado y facilitar los procedimientos de una convención estatl”.
El opositor Hla Myo Naung, del que ya hablé aquí que había ido a ser tratado de una ruptura de córnea, ha sido operado en la cárcel y tiene daños en los nervios, porque la operación “salió mal”.
Ni siquiera los actores se salvan. Si hace unos días conocíamos la detención de -entre otros actores- Zanganar, un actor cómico muy famoso en Birmania (se le apoda el Charlie Chaplin birmano) ante la desesperación de su mujer que denuncia que está mal de salud y que ni siquiera sabe a dónde se lo han llevado, ahora hemos conocido que Kyaw Thu y su mujer han sido apresados. Se habían escondido desde que se reunieron para repartir agua y comida a los monjes, acto en el que también estuvo Zanganar, a pesar de que sabían que esto significaba su arresto. Kyaw Thu es un reconocido actor pero también un famoso activista de derechos humanos y desempeña el puesto de vice-presidente de una fundación que paga los funerales a personas que no tienen recursos.
Los monjes que han sido detenidos y han sido después puestos en libertad, han comenzado a hablar. “Las condiciones eran terribles. No teníamos más que un pequeño trozo de celda para sentarnos”, se lamento el monje birmano U Sandar Vaya, con la cara pálida y aparentando ser más viejo de los 33 años que tiene. Pero otros han tenido peor suerte. Como consecuencia de la falta de comida y las subidas y bajadas de temperatura, algunos monjes y personas legas pensaron que se sofocarían. Otros simplemente murieron.
Más detalles sobre las condiciones en las que los tienen detenidos:

Miembros en prisión de la Generación del 88 han descrito estar en condiciones horribles en pequeñas habitaciones, donde tienen que estar hombro con hombro, sin poder tumbarse. Los prisioneros también han descrito una falta de wáteres, agua limpia y comidas adecuadas.

También continúa la cremación de los cadáveres: al menos 200 han sido quemados en secreto, por lo que serán muchos más.
Si la BBC fue acusada hace unos días de ser “destructiva para Birmania”, ahora la Junta acusa a los países occidentales de fomentar las protestas.
Y la ONU? Eehh, bueno, trabajando duro por ser muyyyyyy blanda: Consejo de Seguridad de ONU deplora represión en Myanmar. Tan, tan dura es como lo que se puede observar en la foto de la izquierda: Ghambari, enviado de la ONU, posa con la Junta militar, como ya escribí aquí. Reporteros sin Fronteras es de la misma opinión que yo sobre lo blannnnnnnnnnndo el comunicado con la Junta.
Las detenciones también continúan. Y aún más detenciones. De hecho se habla de una “caza de brujas“. Y se ha creado un tribunal especial para los que se manifestaron en la prisión de Thayet.
La policía persigue a los perros que lleven una foto de Than Swe y otros mandatarios de la Junta colgadas del cuello, porque asociar a alguien con un perro es un serio insulto en Birmania. En este caso, el insulto es para el perro por asociarle con estos asesinos. Por cierto, ¿para cuándo van a denunciar los defensores de los animales el maltrato de estos perros? Porque considerando lo que les hacen a los humanos, hay que pensar que tienen un futuro negro…
Y ahora están obligando a los residentes en Yangún a manifestarse en favor del régimen.
Ahora China se une a los que censuran a la Junta, pero eso -creo personalmente- que es más porque temen un boicot masivo a los Juegos Olímpicos del año que viene que porque realmente hayan cambiado de idea… Y, por supuesto, es más una cuestión de publicidad que un cambio en la idea o en la consideración de la Junta birmana.
India, sin embargo, cerró un negocio de 103 millones de dólares mientras se producía la represión. El proyecto, llamado de “transporte multi-modal de Kaladan”, permitirá a la India adquirir una ruta de tránsito a través de Birmania por los países del Sudeste asiático. El Gobierno indio confesó que perseguía su propio interés en el proyecto.
India y Corea del Norte, junto con China, Rusia y Ucrania, continúan vendiendo armas al régimen birmano. Para ellos es un cliente más.
La reconciliación se ve lejos, pero será el único camino para alcanzar la paz en el país. Y una transición pacífica. Así, aunque la oposición SÍ quiere entrar en negociaciones con el Gobierno, la Junta militar ya ha dicho que NONES.
Por cierto, Bulgari va a boicotear las piedras preciosas que vengan de Birmania. Un gesto que les honra.
Pero no dejemos que el pesimismo nos invada. Como decía el Financial Times, los razonamientos simples no sirven porque no responden a la verdad ni son ajustados a la realidad:

Estos argumentos me recuerdan el pesimismo con que se trataba al bloque soviético. Incluso después de la ola de revoluciones del Este de Europa que comenzó en 1989, me acuerdo de ver a un académico explicar en la TV británica cómo Ceaucescu de Rumanía sobreviviría porque había hecho al pais y lo gobernaba con mano de hierro. El día siguiente estaba muerto.

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Tags: Burma, Birmania, SaffronRevolution, Revolución Azafrán, China, India, Russia, Rusia, Ukraine, Ucrania, UN, ONU, Ghambari, Bulgari, Aung San Suu Kyi, 88 Generation, Bhuddism, Bhuddist monks, torture, tortura, repression, represión, dictatorship, dictadura, Junta Militar birmana, Burmese Military Junta

In the UN (that @#€@#€ of organization) tx to Kate:

Myanmar’s foreign minister has accused “political opportunists” backed by foreign powers of trying to derail its move towards a “disciplined democracy”.

Nyan Win defended the crackdown on anti-government demonstrators he called an “unruly and provocative” mob, as essential to restore order.

“Normalcy has now returned in Myanmar,” he said.

He told the UN General Assembly’s ministerial meeting on Monday that “neo-colonialists” - a reference to the US and other Western nations – were spreading disinformation that Myanmar’s government was committing gross human rights violations and imposing economic sanctions.

“Recent events make clear that there are elements within and outside the country who wish to derail the ongoing process [towards democracy] so that they can take advantage of the chaos that would follow,” he said.

“They have become more and more emboldened and have stepped up their campaign to confront the government.”

At last, the Junta has agreed to receive the UN Envoy (4 days later) but with this statement I am not very optimistic…

Rob writes:

The left side of the blogosphere has jumped into action, mainly by deifying bloggers and signing petitions. Neither of these things will stop the Junta’s Holocaust against Buddhists, only action will. But the left will never call for action, they’re happy to allow the bloodshed to continue for another generation while shaking their head ruefully and wishing someone else would do something.

Yes, because then they could blame other one for their errors, while they would be at home just doing nothing for others. But, ohh, how well we feel, eh??

From Burma-Myanmar genocide:

minzaw: 1974 monks and nuns being arrested at Insein GTI are now scheduled to be sent to Bawathit Prison, Kabaw Valley, Sagaing Division. Details unknown. Activists encourage for possible reporters to keep an aye on all these detention centers. Current satellite images requested.

More from BBC:

Thousands of monks have been arrested since the weekend and many of them are now locked up in the government technical college on the outskirts of the city - a windowless hall which has three military vehicles stationed outside.

Local people are well aware that the monks have been locked away, and they are afraid that they themselves could be next.

“I’m really scared,” a woman told us quietly when she was sure no-one else could hear.

If the Burmese military wanted to silence the protesters through fear, they seem to have largely succeeded. But they know they cannot keep the monks locked up for ever, and people are waiting anxiously to see what happens next.

Don’t have words enough. But, hey, it’s too early to draw conclusions..

The Moderate Voice: Hey, General, Show us these little monks are Alive and Unharmed.

Yes, show them, you torturers…

West eyes China to influence Burma’s junta | csmonitor.com

[The West] hopes that China will arm-twist Burma’s generals into making concessions to defuse the crisis are probably wishful thinking and run counter to Chinese political and business interests, say analysts.Harder to gauge, say analysts, is how far the writ of such allies extends in Burma. “China has very little influence. It is stuck with an advisory role. The basis of Burma’s policy has been to shut itself off,” says William Overholt, head of RAND Corp.’s Asia-Pacific research center.A broader question, with ramifications for dealings with Sudan, Zimbabwe and other regimes, is whether China will abandon its policy of noninterference and play a role closer to that of Western powers, even if it ultimately opts for engagement over opprobrium.
China has begun to adopt a critical tone on Burma, saying it hoped the Burmese government could “properly deal with its domestic social conflicts.” Premier Wen Jiabao called Sunday on Burma to seek a peaceful solution. Breaking with protocol, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last week roundly condemned Burma, a member state, as did Japan, which said it was suspending major aid.
But in Beijing’s eyes, propping up an unpopular regime on its borders may be preferable to seeing it collapse and risk being shut out by an unfriendly new government. “If the military government does not survive, a pro-Western regime will be established that would inevitably turn from China to the West for political and economic support,” says Du Jifeng, a Burma analyst at the China Academy for Social Sciences.
The timing is awkward for Beijing. The Communist Party is gearing up for a crucial congress and wants a united front on policy choices, not dissension over Burma. The sight of peaceful protesters confronting an authoritarian state also has uncomfortable parallels, says Russell Moses, an analyst in Beijing. “Events in Burma raise the specter of peaceful political change in China, and that makes a lot of officials in Beijing nervous,” he says

From Saffron Revolution Updates: Massacre at School:

photos taken at State High School No.2, Tamwe in Rangoon, after the killing of students by soldiers. Estimated 50-100 students and parents killed.

One is photo of brain got out from a student and one is a crowd looking dead bodies lying in the drain.

The Belmont club posts the letter they have received from a Burmese gentleman:

Matter of fact, I just learned that a Japanese life is worth more than thousands of Burmese lives. It is evident from the reaction of the Japanese government after a Japanese journalist was killed in Rangoon. The Japanese government has long been aware of the fact that Burmese people go through these abuses at junta’s hand everyday. Summary executions, forced labor, forced relocation, forced conscription of child soldiers and many other atrocities. But Japanese government has been indifferent in their policy of engaging with the military junta and supporting them.

Suddenly, even the Deputy Foreign Minister is going to Burma for an investigation for the death of the Japanese journalist. Please don’t misunderstand me, myself along with all the Burmese appreciate the efforts of Nagai San to expose the living hell that the Burmese live day in day out, to the outside world. Our condolences go to his family. It is sad that an innocent Japanese life had to be lost because the government of Japan had ignored all the facts for decades knowingly.

Of course, but as Daewoo’s spokerperson said, some days ago, to support their inversions in Burma, “Politics is politics, economy is economy”.

And hypocrisy is hypocrisy…

(By the way, Spanish leftist blogger Judas has posted about the subject -in Spain-, calling for a united action of all Spanish blogosphere against the Junta and in favour of Burmese opposition. Answer from another leftist blogger: “The denounce is good, but you could have disregarded the anti-communist ranting“. Yeah, of course…]

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Así que Nyan Win, otro repeinado, este en pijo (debe ser lo de la “vía birmana al socialismo” que si estás con el régimen eres un potentado; si no, hasta puedes ser violado por un perro, para regocijo de los guardas borrachos de la prisión) el enviado de Birmania en la ONU (¿para qué demonios sirve esta #@€#@€ de organización?) ha dicho que “han sido oportunistas políticos” apoyados por poderes extranjeros los que han intentado “descarrilar” sus movimientos hacia una “democracia disciplinada”.

Nyan Win defendió la represión de los manifestantes anti-gobierno porque eran una pandilla “sin orden y provocadora”, y era “necesario restaurar el orden.

“La normalidad ha vuelto a Myanmar,” dijo.

Asimismo añadió ante la Asamblea General de las NNUU que los “neo-colonialistas” -en referencia a EEUU y otras naciones occidentales (China, India o Tailandia que se están “llevando” sus recursos sin considerar los abusos a los DDHH, esos no son colonialistas…) - estaban expandiendo rumores que el gobierno de Birmania estaba cometiendo graves violaciones de DDHH e imponiendo sanciones económicas.

“Los recientes hechos han dejado claro que hay elementos dentro y fuera de nuestro país que quieren descarrilar el proceso que se ha puesto en marcha [hacia la democracia -¿matando monjes en los conventos? ¿torturando y quemando vivos a manifestantes pacíficos? Venga ya, no me haga reír, o llorar de la maldad absoluta de sus palabras] para tener ventajas en el caos que seguiría,” he said.

“Han ido enroscándose cada vez más y han hecho una campaña para enfrentarse al Gobierno.”

Aquiles, tenías razón al estar preocupado por las noticias de ayer.

Y claro, con esto, es normal que hayan tardado los de la Junta Militar (socialista) CUATRO días en recibir al enviado de las NNUU:

no se aportaron más detalles de lo tratado en la cita, aunque la ONU ya ha mostrado su preocupación por el estado de las personas detenidas en los últimos días, más de 6.000, según los medios de la disidencia.

Muy preocupada está la ONU. La veo tannnnnnnnn preocupada como con la represión en tantos otros sitios del mundo: Corea del Norte (donde a los disidentes les usan para probar armamento), Arabia Saudí, Irán, Siria, China (hasta el logo de los JJOO tiene pinta siniestra), etc.

Pero claro, a nadie se le va a ocurrir pedir una intervención armada. Primero, porque EEUU ya está en Irak y Afganistán, principalmente, y China le tiene compradas la tercera parte de la renta pública USA y porque Europa no quiere ni loca pringarse no vaya a ser que a) digan que somos unos “warmongers” y además b) porque si se pringa algún otro siempre se le puede criticar. Eso sí, todos en nuestros sillones diciendo que maravillosos somos porque, ooops, hemos criticado a la Junta Militar -los que lo hemos hecho, otros ni eso: ¿dónde están los titiriteros del “no más sangre por petróleo“? Ahh, que no es Bush, entonces, hale, a buscar unas cuantas subvenciones más y ya está… -. Y sin hacer nada…

Sobre China, escribe el Christian Science Monitor:

China ha comenzado a adoptar un tono crítico con Birmania, diciendo que esperaba que el Gobierno birmano “pudiera resolver sus conflictos sociales domésticos.” El PresidenteWen Jiabao dijo el Sábado en Birmania que quería que se llevase a un solución pacífica. Rompiendo el protocolo, la Asociación de las Naciones del Sudeste Asiático (ASEAN) condenó a Birmania la semana pasada, al tiempo que un estado miembro, Japón decía que iba a suspender la ayuda más importante.
Pero a los ojos de Pekín, apoyar a un régimen impopular en su frontera puede ser preferible a verle que colapsa y con el riesgo añadido de que puede echarle un nuevo gobierno hostil. “Si la Junta Militar no sobrevive, un régimen pro-Occidental sería establecida e inevitablemente volvería la espalda a China y miraría hacía Occidente para obtener apoyo político y económico,” dice Du Jifeng, un analista birmano de la Academia China de Ciencias Sociales.El momento es muy incómodo para Pekín. El Partido Comunista está a punto de comenzar un momento crucial y quiere un frente unido en las elecciones políticas, no disensión sobre Birmania. La visión de los manifestantes pacíficos que se enfrentan a un estado totalitario también tiene paralelos incómodos, dice Russell Moses, un analista en Pekín. “Los hechos en Birmania han incrementado el espectro de cambio político pacífico en China, y eso pone a los políticos de Pekín muy nerviosos,” dice.

Las fotos que se ven arriba son el resultado de una masacre en un Colegio Superior Público, donde se cree que hubo entre 50 y 100 asesinados entre estudiantes y profesores.

The Belmont Club posteó una carta que recibió wretchard de un birmano (no la traduzco entera si no sólo un trozo):

La cuestión es, que acabo de saber que la vida de un japonés vale más que las vidas birmanas. Es evidente considerando la reacción del gobierno japonés después de que fuera asesinado en Rangún. El gobierno japonés ha conocido los abusos a los que la Junta sometía al pueblo birmano todos los días. Ejecuciones sumarias, trabajos forzados, traslados forzosos recluta forzosa de niños y muchas otras atrocidades. Pero el gobierno japonés ha sido indiferente en su política de relacionarse con la Junta militar y apoyarles.
De repente, incluso el Viceministro de Exteriores va a Birmania a investigar la muerta de un periodista japonés. Oh, por favor, no me malinterprete, yo y todos los birmanos apreciamos los esfuerzos de Nagai San para exponer el infierno en vida birmano, a la luz, al mundo exterior. Nuestras condolencias a su familia. Es triste que la vida de un japonés inocente ha tenido que acabarse violentamente porque el gobierno japonés ha ignorado los hechos por décadas, conociendo que pasaban.

Japundit has how the Chinese Olympic Games’logo was created was created.

PS: Oh, and Cox&Forkum are just leaving the scene. A pity for all the people who have been seeing their cartoons on a regular basis as me…  Hey but there is no crying on cartooning.

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Japundit (link arriba) tiene cómo se hizo (son sólo imágenes así que no hace falta que lo traduzca… ) .

Y Cox&Forkum se van. LGF también se ha hecho eco.  Pero John Cox seguirá haciendo viñetas en su web.

As I wrote these last days, one deeds which have arisen general condemnation has been the killing -totally deliberate- of video journalist Kenji Nagai.

Well, the Mutant Frog Travellogue writes about the Japanese position on the subject and how the public has made the Government change its initial position:

The Japanese government has gone from a basically hands-off approach to demanding full explanations at the highest level. Still, new prime minister Yasuo Fukuda has not gone ahead with sanctions and has decided only to demand an explanation and lodge an official protest over the incident. However, most significant is that major commentators have begun calling for Japan to initiate sanctions against the junta, which has so far not been a popular position as Japan has had a policy of so-called dual engagement, giving aid to the country while trying to maintain relations with democracy leaders as well.

Fueling the change in the government’s stance is the fact that Nagai’s death has put a face on the ugliness of tyranny for the Japanese public and the blunt shove and rapid-fire of bullets that felled him symbolize the almost casual brutality that Burma has faced for decades.

The protests’ coverage in the media was transformed overnight at the news of his death and intensified when it was learned that he was killed so brutally, going from the usual “instability in a foreign country that doesn’t affect us” sort of coverage to much more involved reports of the protests that more closely resembled the BBC’s intense up-to-the-minute reporting.

Just read it all. It’s very interesting the whole post.

Another news which shows the nature of this “Burmese way to Socialism”:

The Church’s low profile probably has something to due with this story from the beginning of the year?Burma ‘orders Christians to be wiped out’.

Talking about peaceful guys, hein???

Some videos from Burma. From that link: Burmese blogs around the globe.

Kate was asking yesterday why India was silent:

Delhi’s unease over the protests was clearly illustrated when Petroleum Minister Murli Deora left for the troubled south-east Asian country at the weekend.

Before leaving, he ran into a protest by Burmese pro-democracy activists in Delhi.

The protesters carried placards reading “Deora, don’t go for gas, go for democracy” and “India stop supporting Burmese military rule”.

As Mr Deora reached Burma, the huge street protests against Burma’s military rulers were beginning to peak.

‘Watching developments’

India’s reticence over developments in Burma dates back as least as far as 1988, when the military brutally crushed student protests.

We cannot have democracy at home and support military tyrants in the neighbourhood. India must do all it can for the restoration of democracy in Burma Nandita Haksar, Human rights lawyer

A senior Indian external ministry official said on Wednesday that India was “closely watching the developments in Burma”.

But he was quick to add: “We have no desire to interfere in the internal affairs of Burma.”

An official statement on Mr Deora’s visit said: “He had wide-ranging discussions to explore the possibilities of enhancing bilateral co-operation in the hydrocarbon sector with Burma’s Energy Minister, Brig Gen Lun Thi.”

Mr Deora was also present on Monday at the signing of Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) for three deep-water exploration blocks between India’s ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Burma’s Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) .

“These contracts are a happy development and augur well for expanding the co-operation between the two neighbours,” Mr Deora said on his return to India.

When it comes to Burma, the priority for the world’s largest democracy under economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is now quite clear.

With a fast-growing economy, India is desperate to access any major source of energy in the neighbourhood from Iran to Burma and beyond.

And more:

The reason for India’s tardy reaction is clear: The crisis in Burma puts its neighbour to the west in a very difficult position. “India is proud of being the biggest democracy in the world,” says Gerhard Will, Southeast Asia expert at the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs. “But at the same time they have an international partner who is repressing democratic movements.”

India’s interest in Burma is largely motivated by the country’s importance to its main economic and political rival. “India is afraid of China’s influence in Burma,” says Will.

And more h/t Global Voices:

India wants Burma’s help fighting rebels on their shared border. In return for this help, they are helping Burma bypass the EU arms embargo, and even helping train the Burmese military. This is pretty heavy support.

The other is that India wants Burmese natural gas, and is afraid that China will take advantage of it if they do not. So both to feed their own economy, and to block China’s, they are willing to make deals with the junta and leave the Burmese people to … fend for themselves against the military that they have helped to arm and train. Given that the Burmese military is a almost a half a million strong (just a smidge smaller than the American active duty Army), it’s hardly a fair fight.

(La India escoge el gas birmano frente a la democracia birmana)

She also asked why the people are not protesting about India. My personal idea is that India is a democracy -something which China isn’t-, has some internal basic problems -such as Kashmir and the lineages’ conflicts- and, lastly, has a normal relationship with Western countries. I suspect that the situation India has -side by side with a nuclear bomb in all aspects as Pakistan is- also something to do with it.

Related news: Two British Parlamentarians witness HR atrocities on Indian-Burmese border:

“In particular, India should re-examine its conscience and stop providing arms and military training to the regime,” [Baroness Cox] said. “India should also reconsider its economic investments in Burma, until a meaningful transition to democracy is underway. The suffering of the people of Burma has gone on too long with too little action.”

ATTENTION: Burmese military is hiding the bodies of the killed. And the Army is currently entering almost all the monastries in Yangon now and shooting the people.

Last news:

Bloggers with sources inside Burma are reporting that there was a military coup by General Maung Aye, second in command of the dictatorship, against Than Shwe, and that his troops are now guarding Aung San Suu Kyi’s home.

____________________

Japón como ya sabeis va a investigar la muerte del video-periodista Kenji Nagai. Al principio, se trató el tema en Japón como si no fuera con ellos, hasta que han visto que sí iba con ellos y de qué manera. Incluso la cobertura mediática pasó de “inestabilidad en un país que no nos importa nada” a informar sobre las protestas minuto a minuto. Lo que da idea del egoísmo humano: si me afecta, hmm, qué interesante, si no, que les dén. Y confirma que en un mundo globalizado TODO nos afecta.

En cuanto a India -ya que me he metido tanto con China, creo que va siendo hora de escribir sobre “la más grande democracia del mundo”, en número de personas-, su silencio en esta materia ha hecho que bastantes indios protesten por la pasividad demostrada.

Existen básicamente dos causes por las cuales India no ha dicho nada.

La primera es el mercado energético. India ha firmado estos días un nuevo acuerdo con Birmania para tres exploraciones en aguas profundas entre la empresa india Videsh Limited y la birmana Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Así que queda clara cuál es la prioridad de la India, país que está desesperado por acceder a cualquier precio a cuantas más fuentes de energía mejor desde Irán (hmmm) hasta Birmania y más allá…

Eso sí, eso no les impide auto-denominarse “la más importante democracia del mundo”, pero como dice la abogada de DDHH Nandita Haksar, ” no podemos apoyar la democracia en casa y apoyar a tiranos militares en el extranjero”.

Pero existe otra causa: India está preocupada de la influencia china en el área y teme que si deja Birmania por causa de los DDHH, China la ocupe. De tal modo que está ayudando a Birmania a infringir el embargo decretado por la UE y ayudando a entrenar al ejército birmano. Considerando que éste último tiene un número aproximado de medio millón de hombres, se entiende que la ayuda prestada es muy importante. A cambio, Birmania no sólo le cede gas y petróleo, si no que le ayuda a capturar a los rebeldes que hay en su frontera.

Las últimas noticias son que los militares están escondiendo los cadáveres y que están entrando en los conventos y matando a los monjes.

Mientras Zapatero dice que “es todavía muy pronto para sacar conclusiones“. ¿A qué? ¿A que maten a todos los monjes y a todos los que se oponen a la Socialista Junta Militar?

ÚLTIMAS NOTICIAS: Al parecer, bloggers con información desde Birmania han publicado que General Maung Aye, el segundo en la dictadura, ha dado un golpe de Estado y que sus tropas están guardando la casa del General Than Shwe. Francamente, me parece que esto no variará nada el sentido de la dictadura, aunque puede ser que la debilite por la división entre los partidarios de unos y de otros.

Más concentraciones (me las manda Kate) ( debería haberlo publicado antes….) :

For more cities check: http://www.es.amnesty.org/paises/myanmar/pagina/actos-publicos/

*CASTELLDEFELS*:Sunday 30, 12:00, Plaza de la Iglesia.

*CASTELLÓN*:Monday 1, 17:00, Plaza María.

*CÓRDOBA*: Sunday 30, 12:00, plaza de las Tendillas.

*MADRID*:Sunday 30, 12:00, calle Preciados to Plaza de Callao.

*MENORCA*:Sunday 30, 20h, Ciutadella.

*MOLINS DE REY*:Sunday 30, 10:00, Cursa de San Miguel.

*TARRAGONA*:Sunday 30, 13:00, Estatua dels despullats, downtown Tarragona.

The crackdown continues.
News from The Associated Press

Soldiers with automatic rifles fired into crowds of anti-government demonstrators Thursday, killing at least nine people in the bloodiest day in more than a month of protests demanding an end to military rule.Bloody sandals lay scattered on some streets as protesters fled shouting “Give us freedom, give us freedom!”

On the second day of a brutal crackdown, truckloads of troops in riot gear also raided Buddhist monasteries on the outskirts of Yangon, beating and arresting dozens of monks, witnesses and Western diplomats said. Japan protested the killing of a Japanese photographer.

Daily demonstrations by tens of thousands have grown into the stiffest challenge to the ruling junta in two decades, a crisis that began Aug. 19 with rallies against a fuel price hike then escalated dramatically when monks began joining the protests.

With the government ignoring international appeals for restraint, troops fired into packs of demonstrators in at least four locations in Yangon, witnesses and a Western diplomat said. Protesters - some shouting “Give us freedom!” - dodged roadblocks and raced down alleys in a defiant game of cat and mouse with soldiers and riot police that went on for most of the day.

Some 70,000 protesters were on the streets at the height of the chaos, though the total was difficult to estimate as different groups broke up and later reformed.

Sandals were strewn by a pool of blood at one spot where people fled approaching police. In a brave challenge, a bare-chested man emerged from one crowd to advance toward riot officers, then was felled by a rubber bullet and suffered a beating by officers who took him away.

They are fighting bravely against the Junta:

Local residents in South Okkalapa township have surrounded security forces who returned to Ngway Kyar Yan monastery to arrest the abbot following last night’s raids.

At least 130 monks were detained in the raid on the monastery, and personal belongings including robes, rice and 2,000,000 Kyat in cash were seized.

Security forces returned at around noon today to arrest the abbot and took up positions surrounding the monastery.

But hundreds of thousands of local residents, outraged by the raids, surrounded the troops, shouting anti-government slogans and demanding the immediate release of the detained monks.

Other developments today:

1. Burma says it will issue a visa to UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who is being urgently sent to the country
2. the Association of South-East Asian Nations voices “revulsion” at the killings and urges Burma - one of its members - to exercise restraint
3. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour warns Burmese leaders that they could be prosecuted for their actions

Found in Burmanet.org.

Last news are that Kyang Kyang, General Than Swe’s wife, their daughter, Thadar Swe and their grandson have taken a plane to go abroad. Something which is really worrying.

USA has announced sanctions against 14 Burmese officials.

Oh, and Myanmar is how the Junta named the country, so the Burmese people are not very fond of it.
_________________

En español:

La Junta Militar birmana acepta la entrada al país del enviado de la ONU.

China y Rusia evitan una condena de la ONU. capullos   ( y siento el lenguaje…).

El Ejército birmano reprime una manifestación a tiros y causa al menos 9 muertos.

Al iniciarse el día, una inmensa multitud se había reunido de nuevo en torno a la pagoda Sule. “Les damos 10 minutos. Si no se van, emplearemos medidas extremas”, gritaron los soldados a través de megáfonos. Poco después, por lo menos 100 personas habían sido detenidas y obligadas a subir a camiones militares, mientras los otros manifestantes huían corriendo por las calles del centro, explicaron los testigos.

Los jóvenes, acompañados por unos 20 monjes budistas, cantaron el himno nacional birmano mientras encaraban a decenas de policías y soldados armados que les impedían el paso, afirmaron los testigos.

“El general Aung San nunca habría ordenado al ejército que matase al pueblo”, gritaron, en referencia al difunto héroe de la independencia birmana y padre de la líder pro democrática y premio Nobel de la Paz Aung San Suu Kyi.

EEUU anuncia sanciones contra 14 altos cargos birmanos.

¿Un nuevo Tiananmen?

El último episodio acontecido en la revuelta popular de Birmania hace temer lo peor. Anoche, Kyaing Kyaing, esposa del jefe de la Junta Militar, el general Than Shwe, acompañada de su hija, Thadar Shwe, y de uno de sus nietos, tomó un vuelo de Air Bagan en primera clase y abandonó el país.

La situación de Birmania (formalmente Myanmar, nombre que, por cierto, la oposición no acepta porque fue una ocurrencia del nuevo orden castrense) no ha hecho más que ir a peor desde que el pasado 19 de agosto la Junta Militar que gobierna el país con mano de hierro decidiera subir el precio del combustible un 500%.

La revuelta popular de estos días, a diferencia de la que desencadenó la matanza de 1988, está liderada por el movimiento budista, y encabezada por los monjes de la gran pagoda de Shwedagon, el primer santuario del país, símbolo de la nación, que hasta ahora no se había destacado por su hostilidad al régimen.

En el país no se celebran elecciones legislativas desde 1990, cuando Aung San Suu Kyi, al frente de la Liga Nacional por la Democracia (LND), consiguió una victoria abrumadora que la facción militar se negó a reconocer y que resolvió disolviendo el parlamento y encarcelándola, para más tarde ponerla bajo un arresto domiciliario que todavía hoy continúa.

Desde entonces, Than Shwe, mantiene a su país sometido a un régimen de terror y secretos, fortaleciendo el papel del ejército y asfixiando toda aspiración democrática. Además, en este tiempo, se ha esforzado por lograr un acercamiento a China, Rusia, India y Tailandia, países muy interesados en los recursos naturales birmanos, fundamentalmente el gas. Y a tenor de los acontecimientos, lo ha conseguido: El Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU instó ayer a la Junta Militar a ejercer la “contención” en sus actos violentos contra la población civil, pero el veto de China evitó la condena del máximo órgano de Naciones Unidas contra el régimen.

Y otra vez los recursos energéticos de por medio.

And more about the repression to the Saffron revolution:

Myanmar soldiers fire weapons into crowd - Yahoo! News

Soldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of anti-government protesters Thursday as tens of thousands defied the ruling military junta’s crackdown with a 10th straight day of demonstrations.
A Japanese Foreign Ministry official told The Associated Press that several people, including a Japanese national, were found dead following Thursday’s protests.

The information was transmitted by Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry to the Japanese Embassy in Yangon, the official said on condition of anonymity citing protocol.

The chaos came a day after the government launched a crackdown in Yangon that it said killed at least one man. Dissidents outside Myanmar reported receiving news of up to eight deaths Wednesday.

Some reports said the dead included Buddhist monks, who are widely revered in Myanmar, and the emergence of such martyrs could stoke public anger against the regime and escalate the violence.

As part of the crackdown, monasteries were raided overnight by pro-junta forces in which monks were reportedly beaten and more than 100 were arrested.

The regime is searching for journalists throughout hotels, because it’s rumoured that there are some of them who have entered the country with a tourist visa…

[My mother, who is not normally interested in international news, is absolutely outraged… And I didn’t have time to explain anything to her. After that, she is really angry… ]

And China is just supporting its strategic partnership with the Junta, and pushing Russia to support her:

During the session, China denied its vote to a joint formal declaration which would have condemened the acts of the Military Junta during the peaceful demonstrations of these last days. It was not possible either to discuss about possible sanctions, even when the French FM Bernard Kouchner insisted in a condemnation to the Burmese leaders. The Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya, said after the meeting that the sanctions against Burma would not be of great help.

Of course not, China is just subsidizing the Junta, it is the 1st commercial partner and the 1st investor in the country. They are not going to shoot themselves in the foot…

(+) Burmanet.org has posted a photo showing death in the streets.

They have also posted several videos of the protests:

_________________

De Libertad Digital:

Un destacamento de soldados birmanos han entrado en el hotel “Traders”, en el centro de Rangún, y comenzó a registrar habitación por habitación para buscar a varios periodistas extranjeros que han entrado en el país con visado de turista. En las calles, unas setenta mil personas, entre monjes y opositores, protestan contra la represión y las redadas ordenadas por la Junta Militar para acabar con las multitudinarias manifestaciones.

Según informaciones de testigos a emisoras de radio de la disidencia, el Ejército ha lanzado un ultimátum a los manifestantes para que abandonen las calles y regresen a sus casas. En caso contrario usaran sus armas. La respuesta de los opositores fueron consignas contra el régimen militar y gritos de “¡Asesinos, asesinos!” y “¡Venceremos, venceremos!”. Desde la mañana de este jueves, los enfrentamientos han dejado al menos un muerto, decenas de heridos y más de cien detenidos.

En el monasterio Ngwe Kyar Yan unas diez mil personas se enfrentaron a los soldados y policías estacionados en el lugar para impedir que se formase una nueva movilización. En la pagoda de Sule, en el casco viejo de la ciudad, otros varios cientos de personas protagonizaron una sentada, apoyando con cantos y rezos a un grupo de bonzos, hasta que los cuerpos de seguridad cargaron para dispersar la protesta con disparos y botes de humo. Los manifestantes, algunos de ellos con heridas, escapaba por las calles adyacentes de la carga.

Y China sigue apoyando a su aliado, que no es otro que la Junta birmana. Leed el link, incluido en la parte en inglés, que he puesto más arriba de DE.