I don't intend for the protests in Burma to dominate this blog, but these aren't ordinary protests and as a close neighbour of Thailand, what happens in Burma directly affects Thailand so I can't ignore it.
The following picture can often paint a thousand words and is very symbolic:
CAPTION: Well-known Burmese comedian Zaganar (center) and famous actor Kyaw Thu (r) wait for the monks to deliver food and water, in Rangoon, 24 Sep 2007.
For the full-size image and many others go to the Democratic Voice of Burma.
Irrawaddy has a quote from the actor Kyaw Thu:
"We are Buddhist. All Buddhist have to support this movement. We will do whatever we have to do take care of the monks. They are doing a lot on behalf of the people"
COMMENT: When you live in an oppressive dictatorship, supporting monks is a symbolic, but powerful message to the people.
The monk-led protests have placed the Burmese government in a quandary because cracking down on the monks or those offering alms to monks is difficult because of the status of monks in Burmese society as the BBC reports:
Monks are highly revered in Burma and correspondents say any move by the junta to crush their demonstrations would spark an outcry.
This reminds me of the People's Power movement against Marcos in 1986 and the key role that senior members of the Catholic Church played. It is one thing to tell a solider to kill a civilian, but it is completely different to tell them to kill a monk or a nun/priest in a deeply religious country. There would also likely be a strong reaction in Thailand to the killing of any monks by the Burmese military.
Not to go over the top with analogies with the People's Power movement, but there were two key events at that time (1) the very public defections of 2 key Marcos supporters/advisers Enrile and Ramos which weakened the powers of the state over the citizenry, and (2) the US providing Marcos with an opportunity for a clean break.
On (1), we will have to wait and see whether there are any key defections and this would be a real tipping point. It might not be so public as it was in the Philippines and it might be done in private, but unless there are some defections I can't see how the people can overcome the state's monopoly of force. On (2) I support such moves as providing an incentive for a dictator to leave office can help ensure a clean break without much or any bloodshed - something which is being tried in Zimbabwe. Obviously, you need to make sure there is a new government which is democratically elected otherwise. Asia Sentinel stated this is what the junta members are worried about:
Many analysts believe the generals worry about their own physical survival should they fall from power
So what country might be willing to take in members of the junta? China? A Buddhist county?
Given the present reports (BBC) of 5 to 10 monks being killed today, I doubt a budhist country would welcome them...
Your observation about what's going on in Rangoon today in comparison with the EDSA People Power in '86 is quiet accurate. In both cases, the religious group and popular artists became the main players. You were also right that key defections, from the military ranks in particular, are necessary for this movement to push through. The biggest difference between these two events however is the character of the dictatorship. In the Philippines then, absolute power is in one man's hand. To cause bloodshed in such a situation, would be just too much to bear in one's conscience. In the case of the Burmese Junta, the collective decision sort of wash away the individual guilt. This was also the same phenomenon that happened in Tiannanmen Square. But I do really hope that the Burmese people will hold on and eventually prevail!
It now should be entirely obvious that ordinary monks are not revered. Only pro-government lackey monks are revered by the Junta. Not surprising really. Most of the protestors are just ordinary blokes who have entered the temple to get stuff like a free education. They bring with them a great deal of street animosity to the government thugs who push their relatives around on a daily basis. Certainly they chant peaceful mantras, but like monks in Sri Lanka they will resort to violence - like the rest of us - if backed into a corner. Essentially they are ordinary citizens in saffron, and as such are expendable to the Junta. As they would be in most countries for that matter. They most certainly deserve our help, but I have become convinced that our governments, the UN and ASEAN are essentially spineless. I have no immediate solutions, but perhaps it is time for ordinary people to cooperate across borders to subvert this Junta. we do see some elements of that already. Many bloggers appear to really want to do something in some small way. And publishing photos and accounts is a start.It is abundantly obvious that capitalism holds out no solutions to the problems of the majority world. In a world full of supposed democracies that continually have to toe the line with the whims of the multinationals, the people of Myanmar are on a hiding to nothing. For the multinationals, it will always be business as usual - unless ordinary individuals begin to start break their stranglehold on power. I'm most certainly not advocating mass revolutionary action, but i do think we should whittle away at their power by only giving them respect when they make a genuine effort to improve matters. Blogocracy!?
just some input on the people power movement that toppled marcos in 1986. in the philippines we also call it the EDSA revolt or EDSA One (EDSA for Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, the highway that separated the two military camps, the defectors from the marcos loyalists, where the people converged).
before the very public defections of enrile and ramos in feb 22 86,there was, let us take note, the cory campaign for president, the feb 7 snap election, the cheating, and finally in feb 16, cory's civil disobedience and boycott campaign that sent the cronies and multinationals reeling from bank runs and zero sales. the people were very well organized by then, they were ripe for non-violent revolution, which enrile and ramos knew and took advantage of, hoping to install enrile in marcos's place, hoping to preempt cory. in the end, people power prevailed. the people not only stopped tanks and freaked out marcos, the people also made sure that cory, and not enrile, was proclaimed president.
for more on those heady days of cory's campaign, check out my september 19 post on 'martial law sept 72 to feb 86' and other edsa posts.