Word: burma
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...RANGOON, BURMA...
Saffron robes usually evoke spiritual calm. But for Burma's military leaders, a surprise gathering of monks is anything but peaceful. On Wednesday in the commercial capital Rangoon, hundreds of Buddhist clergy gathered around the nation's beloved Shwedagon pagoda to protest August price hikes that are pummeling an already impoverished populace. More than a thousand monks also rallied in other parts of the country, their daily alms routes turned into paths of protest...
Wednesday's demonstrations cap what has turned into the longest sustained display of dissent in Burma in nearly two decades. At first, the ruling junta, which has maintained an iron grip for 45 years, tried to extinguish the protest movement by arresting dozens of pro-democracy activists. But clapping handcuffs on Buddhist monks is a far more difficult proposition in this deeply devout nation. "The monks are the only ones who really have the trust of the people," says Khin Omar, an exiled dissident now living in Thailand. "When they speak up, people listen...
...spectacle of more shaven-headed youth crowding the streets must send chills down the ruling generals' spines. After all, it was Burma's monks who spearheaded acts of civil disobedience against British colonialists. Buddhist clergy were also at the forefront of mass protests in 1988, which ended when the army gunned down hundreds of peaceful protestors and declared martial law. So far, the military has avoided firing directly at the monks. But with these spiritual warriors showing no sign of giving up their cause, a violent confrontation may be unavoidable...
...Despite the harsh condemnation from global leaders, no concrete action has so far been taken by the international community. A bipartisan team of U.S. lawmakers has written to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging her to call an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Burma. Without firm action from bodies like the U.N. or economic patrons like China, the members of Congress fear that Burma's generals may very well keep up their repressive ways, as they did back in '88. In the meantime, Burma's underground activists are asking for continued resistance from the nation's embattled populace...