There have been numerous protests in Myanmar over fuel price hikes. These small and scattered demonstrations have been organised by pro-democracy groups and broken up by pro-military civilian organisations. The situation has also provoked reactions from Buddhist monks.
Now the junta is taking a different tack: it’s offering some concessions. In this case, it
released a political prisoner whose leg was broken when he was arrested in the recent outbreak of antigovernment protests. His case had gained international attention when fellow prisoners staged a hunger strike calling for his freedom.
This is major movement from a government that’s coming under severe scrutiny — and has been under pressure for years to step aside and allow a democractic system come into being. Whether or not the (slightly) softer approach it has taken with apologies and such is a reflection of the military’s long-gestating “road map to democracy” is unclear.
The junta has blamed pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi for instigating the protests and provoking the monks, so I’m not sure what it’s planning. I’d like to think the international criticism of its actions is having an impact.
I find the Buddhist angle very interesting.
On Thursday, a delegation of military officers was briefly held hostage by Buddhist monks at a temple outside the main city of Yangon [formerly Rangoon and the old capital of Myanmar]. The officers had reportedly gone there to apologize to the monks for treating them roughly during a demonstration the day before.
The monks have been up in arms and have taken prominent roles in major protests since British rule. The material is too good to rewrite, so I present quotes from the International Herald Tribune:
Angry monks were reported to have destroyed two buildings owned by officials involved in Wednesday’s crackdown in Pakokku, a center of Buddhist learning about 400 miles northwest of Yangon.
The New Light of Myanmar, a state-controlled newspaper, reported its version Friday of the violence and the hostage-taking, saying the officers handed over their cellphones to the monks after they had “supplicated to them” over the situation.
The rally the monks took part in was subsequently fired upon.
The Democratic Voice of Burma, a prodemocracy organization based in Norway with contacts inside the country, said “a few monks” visited the home last night [Friday] of a leader of the crackdown “to have a talk with him and teach him some Buddhist manners.”
“But he wasn’t at home,” it reported, “so they destroyed a few things from his house to teach him a lesson instead.”
