NYT UPDATE: The monks gave authorities a Monday deadline to apologize for beating hundreds of them two weeks ago when they marched peacefully in Pakokku, a center of Buddhist learning, to protest the rising fuel and consumer prices. The apology never came.While we have been wasting billions of dollars "bringing democracy" to Iraq, Burma has been largely ignored* for nearly 20 years despite their activism.
...It is the latest in a wave of protests across Burma that began last month, when authorities doubled fuel prices.
Monastic leaders have threatened to hold more demonstrations, starting on Tuesday, unless the military apologises for beating monks at an earlier rally.
The monks at that protest, in the town of Pakokku, held about 20 security officials captive for several hours to complain about their treatment.
The group planning protests on Tuesday - The Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks - has urged its followers to boycott the military government.
The monks have been asked to refuse alms and offerings from anyone connected to the military.
Analysts say the boycott will be taken very seriously in Burma, because the nation's 400,000 monks are held in high esteem.
A similar protest by monks in 1988 led to a big uprising against military rule...
Burma monks stage fresh protests, BBC News
*Note: Rare U.S. meeting occurred this summer.
UPDATE!
In other news I really liked this short Irish film...
12 comments:
now it costs twice as much to catch yourself on fire. :(
Johndiddler,
As I recall it was generally the Vietnamese Buddhist monks who caught themselves on fire...
Monastic leaders have threatened to hold more demonstrations, starting on Tuesday, unless the military apologises for beating monks at an earlier rally.
Has the military been spanking their monk(ey)s again?
@ Edgar:
Has the military been spanking their monk(ey)s again?
Yes. They'd flog the bishop instead, but Buddhists don't have those.
I guess they've got to spank something. Note from the strange decrees discussed in another BBC article:
Burma's military rulers make their presence felt in other ways, too. Permission needs to be sought for almost every aspect of life.
"Everything I do is restricted," one man said. "Where I go, what I do, who I see... The authorities even have to give permission if I want anyone to stay the night."
In other news, I thought this was worth a read: F U Shamu, and the wave you rode in on
While I agree with the point made by the whale article, I also think it's an excellent demonstration of how most activists fail to persaude people. That style of writing is going to inflame anyone who disagrees, push fence-sitters to the other side, and mostly get nods only from those who already agreed with the writer.
If the author just wanted to be read by like-minded people that's fine, but he shouldn't pretend that he's actually accomplishing anything. If on the other hand he hopes to change anyone's mind, he needs to learn how to engage the opposing viewpoint without coming across as an asshole. Which I think he did, even though I agree with the point he was trying to make.
It also wouldn't kill him to research a little -- the Makah tribe is not defending the whale hunt he mentions, and is in fact prosecuting the whalers.
@Ogg,
While his writing style is a bit extreme, there were a few funny lines like:
Uh, our warriors? Are we talking Aquaman and a super-buffed The Little Mermaid, here?
It looks like the government has not exactly apologized. While the situation isn't funny, the Fark headline was good for a chuckle: Deadline passes / Police respond / With clubs and gasses / Burma Monks.
Sweet links!
Particularly enjoyed these quotes:
"For me, I have imposed it on them since 1990 and I'll keep it on," he said...
Religious boycotts are taken extremely seriously in this devoutly Buddhist country. Without such rites, a Buddhist loses all chance of attaining nirvana, or release from the cycle of rebirth.
Your gold-plated hairnet is cut-price!
Too bad. I knew Shamu, Shamu was a friend of mine. Friggin' barbarians.
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