Histories of Burma
Burma was a kingdom until 1962, when a coup d'etat brought General Ne Win to power. He ruled for 26 years. In 1988, national unrest led pro-democracy students and groups to the streets, a movement known as the 8888 Uprising. The Security forces, Tatmadaw, killed 3,000 demonstrators, and the martial law was enforced in 1989 after widespread new demonstrations.
In a false attempt to calm things down, supposed "free" elections were held in 1990. The National League for Democracy (NLD), a party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total of 489 seats, but the results were annuled by the junta, which refused to step down. On the last 18 years, Aung San Suu Kyi spent 12 under detention, secluded in her house in Yangon. She's the only Peace Nobel Prize (well, actually, the only Nobel Prize) to be under detention.
"On August 15, 2007 the Burmese government unexpectedly removed most subsidies on fuel and natural gas prices, causing rapid and dramatic increases in the prices of fuel, diesel, and natural gas, as well as basic commodities. Natural gas prices increased overnight by as much as 500 percent, and fuel and diesel costs doubled." On August 19, about 400 to 500 hundreds gathered for the 1st march of a long series, led by former 88 Students Leaders.
Then followed days after days of protest and arrests. The main leaders were put under detention, 100 being arrested in the 4 first days.
The monks joined the protests on Sept. 5th, a deeply important decision as monks have a unique moral standing in Burma and have always been at the core of political uprisings.
The All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) issued 4 requests to the government, which failed to answer.
The ABMA then released a second statement on September 14 announcing that all monks would refuse to accept alms from SPDC officials and their supporters through a religious excommunication known as Patta Nikkujjana Kamma, or the overturning of the alms bowls. That's explaining the symbol of the picture on the right.
The demonstrations were relatively peacefull until the 24th. About 100,000 to 200,000 gathered every day, half of them being monks. TV and loudspeakers were casting warnings that protestors would be dealt with, and yet they went on the streets.
On the night of the 25th, raids and new arrests began, especially in the temple. On the 26th, the main pagoda was held by security forces, which prevented any demonstrators to flee or march away peacefully. When some people began to run away, the soldiers used bamboo sticks, teargas and automatic guns to put them down.The total number of those killed and wounded during the violence on September 26 remains unknown. On the night of September 26-27, government security forces maintained their dusk to dawn curfew, using the cover of darkness and the fact that residents were forced to remain inside their homes to conduct raids on dozens of monasteries around Rangoon.
The number of casualties is not yet clear. According to ABC, the military crackdown claimed hundreds of lives. The official toll remains at 13 killed. Independent sources reported 30 to 40 monks and 50 to 70 civilians killed as well as 200 beaten. Democratic Voice of Burma puts the number of deaths at 138, basing their figure on a list compiled by the 88 Student Generation group in Myanmar. Colonel Hla Win, who defected from the army, reportedly said than "thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle". Foreign sources claim that more than 6,000 people were being held in the infamous Insein prison. At least one of the 88 leaders died during the "interrogation".
Eyewitness accounts of the crackdown
“The raid at the monastery was around 1 a.m. The soldiers shouted to open the monastery gates, and then broke the gate open by hitting it with their truck when no one came to open. Shouting loudly, they were throwing teargas and firing their automatic guns into the buildings of the monastery, and used their batons to beat the monks whenever they saw them. Many monks ran away, climbing into the trees nearby and escaping by hiding in the houses of the neighborhood. I was injured in the head when I was hit by baton charges. I saw pools of blood, shattered windows, and spent bullet casings on the floor when I came back to the monastery in the morning. We found about 100 monks missing out of 230 monks. They took our money and jewelry, and other valuable things they found at the monastery.”
– U Khanda, a monk describing a raid on his monastery, September 27
"A monk with a flag came up from the street alone and when he arrived at the entrance, he was beaten. They never said anything to him, just started beating him. It happened very fast. One hit him at the base of his head, another hit him in the front of the knees. The third one grabbed the flag and it broke. Then he hit him continuously in the throat with his baton until he died. They took his body to their truck, carrying him like a dead animal…after they put him on the truck, the fire brigade came and cleaned the blood. They took away all the evidence.”
“We were so frightened. My two friends were crying loudly, and I was so frightened that the soldiers would find us. Then the informers pointed to the grass. Seven young people were hiding there. They got up and ran, but the soldiers started firing into their backs. They were only able to run six or seven steps before they fell. Three or four of the young boys aged around 20 to 22, were gunned down straight away. The others tried to run but were caught and taken away in the military cars.”
– Thazin Aye, describing killings at Tamwe No.3 High School on September 27
“After the warnings, the soldiers in the first row shot teargas into the crowd. Five soldiers shot the teargas. They began shooting immediately after the announcement. People ran in all directions. Twenty soldiers came over the barricade, climbed over, and started beating the people. Two people died. … It was not like in the movies. When the soldiers beat those people, they were trying to kill them. They beat them on the head and the abdomen. The soldiers pulled them by their legs over the barricade … they put the two bodies next to their trucks.”
– Zaw Zan Htike, describing an incident on September 27 in downtown Rangoon
“At the time, a girl wasn’t sure whether to lie down or stand up. A riot police [officer] hit the girl on the side of her face with his baton. The girl collapsed. She was in her 20s – there was blood running down her face, and her skull might have been broken. I’m not sure if she died. No one was able to help her. If we put our heads up, they would hit us and kick us with their boots.”
– Htun Kyaw Kyaw, describing arrests on September 27