Jackboots In The Night
The military junta in Burma is hunting dissidents down door-to-door now, kicking in doors in the night and dragging people away.
YANGON, Myanmar - Soldiers announced that they were hunting pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar's largest city Wednesday and the top U.S. diplomat in the country said military police were pulling people out of their homes during the night.
Military vehicles patrolled the streets before dawn with loudspeakers blaring that: "We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!"
Shari Villarosa, the acting U.S. ambassador in Myanmar, said in a telephone interview that people in Yangon were terrified.
"From what we understand, military police … are traveling around the city in the middle of the night, going into homes and picking up people," she said.
Residents living near the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's most revered shrine and a flashpoint of unrest, reported that police swept through several dozen homes in the middle of the night, dragging away several men for questioning. The homes were located above shops at a marketplace that caters to the nearby pagoda, selling monks robes and begging bowls.
Meanwhile, the junta pursued other means of intimidation. An employee from the Ministry of Transport, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that he was told to sign a statement saying he and his family would not take part in any political activity and would not listen to foreign radio reports. Many in Myanmar use short-wave radios to pick up foreign English-language stations — a main source for news about their tightly controlled country.
The west just talks. The junta knows that. None of this should come as a real shock. The European Union won't even condemn what is happening in Zimbabwe or try to impose any meaningful sanctions on that dying country. A society that prides itself on its enlightened philosophy and love of freedom is certainly not willing to lift a finger to help spread human rights or democracy. The juntas know that.
World news | Gaius Wednesday, 3 October , 2007
By Tom Swirly, Wednesday, 3 October , 2007 @ 9:39 am
It’s a terrible shame. Perhaps one day the people will take the US government back from the violent incompetent Republicans and the lame Democrats and be able to use the vast resources of the US towards fixing matters like this, rather than to wake pointless wars throughout the Middle East.
You as a supporter of the Republicans, a party that’s supported repression and torture all over the world, take a disproportionate blame for all this.
By Gaius, Wednesday, 3 October , 2007 @ 11:07 am
Gee, that’s meaningful since it is the left that is arguing for a hands off, “let them fend for themselves” policy.
By Paul, Wednesday, 3 October , 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Too bad for the Burmese, they just don’t have any resources that the neocons want. Therefore, they’re on their own. (Of course, I expect the Burmese would prefer fending for themselves to the “liberation” the Iraqis are suffering.)
By Gaius, Wednesday, 3 October , 2007 @ 1:27 pm
You really are pathetic.
Bush called on the UN to live up to its promise and help the people of Burma.
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/013701.php
Bush imposed sanctions on individual members of the junta:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20971332/
The European Union held a trade seminar with the military junta while monks were being killed in the streets.
http://bluecrabboulevard.com/2007/10/01/enable-wring-hands-repeat/
And I’m closing these comments since the children from the Blog report have decided to use it to spread their disinformation.