From inside Burma
the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has been sent these:
"In the pouring rain, citizens link arms to form a protective human fence on both sides of protesting monks, Yangon. I took the photo, you are free to use it if desired, but I do not want any attribution." ANON
"Myanmar monks at Hledan". The picture is taken from my home. - Zayar
"Burmese monks protesting on the Shwedagon Pagoda Road in Yangon, Burma" - Stephen
1525 UPDATE: And on the programme tonight, what ´óÏó´«Ã½ Monitoring is picking up from the official Burmese media, and an interview with the youngest son of the first President of Burma: Harn Yawnghwe.
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That has made my skin prickle - brave people, both marchers and those who took and sent the pictures.
Strength and blessings to them.
Citizen reporting, in pictures. One good side of the mobile phone revolution, I guess.
Salaam, etc
ed
We can only hope that the brave actions of the Burmese people, along with diplomatic efforts finally bring about a peaceful settlement.
Now that they know that the eyes of the world (not to mention the PM Blog) are all on them, will the military dare to act as they have before? It is extraordinary to think that a Buddhist country like Myanmar can act with such tyranny.
I'd be very interested to know what its northern neighbour makes of all this.
Let's hope this is the beginning of the end of Burma's troubles, not the beginning of even more troubles.
What better proof can there be of the trust and esteem that other people, outside of the UK have in the ´óÏó´«Ã½ ?
This is the sort of thing that personally makes me proud to be British.
Not being flippant, but photo two looks a bit like the terra cotta army.
This proves that people everywhere want freedom.
For what it's worth, as a relatively powerless British citizen and ´óÏó´«Ã½ listener, my heart goes out to these courageous people.
Just to echo what's been said above.
It seems a shame that the situation in Burma - as elsewhere - is portrayed as merely a conflict between good people and evil people. These seem such blanket categories. I too have more sympathy for Buddhist monks and civilian government than for military rulers. But surely there is more to the Burmese situation than this?
We, the reasonably fortunate, wait with bated breath.....for tomorrow shall be another day and we hope, not a day for mourning.
I shall say a prayer for them this eve.
DIY
(Apologies if this has already appeared - I've been afflicted by two curses - first the dreaded 502, then the terrible "Content Submission Error")
The latest I've heard is that the military have set up a presence in two cities, and have imposed a curfew. Given the amount of footage of the protests so far that have leaked out, hopefully the generals will understand that if they do use lethal force, they will not be able to cover it up.
Unfortunately, Burma's regime is propped up by a certain large neighbour, who sells the generals arms in exchange for gas. However, as China is interested in a stable Burma, they may be able to persuade the generals to use restraint when dealing with the protesters.
-oOo-
On a side note, an (exiled) Burmese pro-democracy campaigner on the TV bulletins, when listing the means by which Burmese citizens can communicate goings-on, mentioned three internet-based avenues: YouTube, GMail and GTalk. Anyone spot a theme there? :)
Let's hope that when the current Burmese crisis resolves itself, that the generals don't start talking to their neighbour about internet filtering...
Brave people indeed. I hope something peaceful can come out of this, and that negotiation is tried rather than just shutting their government off from the rest of the world with more sanctions. After all, what have sanctions done over the last few years?
We lived in a dictatorship for 23 years in Brasil. Since 1988 our country is free. All during my teen years everything was forbiten. Now, democracy has a lot of problems but we don't want those "lead years" NO MORE.
I admire people who fight against military regimes and dictatorships.
Guima