Silence In Burma
The AP is reporting that the military junta that runs Burma appears to have shut down most of the protests against it. The United Nations has sent an envoy, but it would appear that he will only be allowed to meet with who the junta says he can. Nobody is encouraged by the UN involvement, least of all the Burmese.
The U.N. dispatched one of its chief negotiators to the country to try to persuade the government to ease the crackdown but many demonstrators were losing hope, with soldiers and police seizing control of the streets and sealing Buddhist monastaries to prevent the saffon-robed monks who led the protests from resuming their marches.
Some 300 die-hard protesters, waving peacock-emblazoned flags of the democracy movement, marched down a street in Chinatown to applause on Saturday, but everybody ran when the soldiers arrived. Housewives and shop owners taunted troops and then quickly disappeared into alleyways.
It was not immediately clear if the U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari would meet junta leader Gen. Than Shwe during his brief visit to Naypitaw, the remote new bunker-like capital where the country's military leaders are based, or pro-democracy figures like Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.
Western diplomats said it was unlikely, noting that the schedule had been set by the government, but the envoy told reporters before arriving "I expect to meet all the people that I need to meet."
"Gambari is coming, but I don't think it will make much of a difference," said one hotel worker, who like other residents asked not to be named, fearing retaliation. "We have to find a solution ourselves."
Local pessimism about Gamabari's visit was reflected by diplomats as well: "We are not very hopeful, but it's the best shot we have," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said at the United Nations in New York.
Agam has pictures and video (NOT for the faint hearted). He reports that the internet connections to Burma were available for a couple of hours before they were stopped again. Agam also has a roundup of lots of links to Asian news and blog sites that are providing coverage.
World news | Gaius Saturday, 29 September , 2007
By Free Burma!, Sunday, 30 September , 2007 @ 5:46 pm
Free Burma!
International Bloggers’ Day for Burma on the 4th of October
International bloggers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Bloggers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“.
http://www.free-burma.org