Word: rangoons
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...late at night and whisper, 'Let me in, brother.' People willingly help us, even though they're well aware of the dire consequences." Still, the regime is doing its best to prevent further unrest and capture any stray dissidents. Trucks full of hired thugs patrol major street corners in Rangoon. The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, says he has received reports that some of the arrested activists are being tortured. Buses to Thailand, where many dissidents fled back in '88, are being searched for activists...
...current rallies were triggered by the junta's Aug. 15 diktat to hike fuel prices up fivefold, sending everything from food to transportation costs soaring. Four days later, former student leaders from the '88 era organized a series of rallies in Rangoon, which drew hundreds of supporters. Even with most activists now locked up or on the run, demonstrations have continued to break out like spores across the nation. Buddhist monks have marched by the hundreds in several cities, adding a stamp of spiritual authority to the protest movement. University students have gathered, too, along with sidelined politicians and even...
...democratic yearning, their initial motivation was also economic. Back then, the military regime demonetized the local currency, rendering millions of people's savings worthless. Small groups began marching over a six-month period, a stop-start effort that culminated in August 1988 with tens of thousands of people thronging Rangoon's streets. But the military quickly sent bullets into the crowds. By 1990, elections won by future Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) had been ignored by the junta. Burma slunk back into isolation...
...junta has dramatically expanded the military; 40% of the nation's annual budget is believed to be spent on the 450,000-strong army. Inflation is running at more than 30%. Last month's fuel hike led to a tripling of bus fares on some routes, leaving many of Rangoon's estimated 2.4 million commuters unable to afford their ride to work. The prices of basic foodstuffs like rice and eggs are also skyrocketing. "At this rate, even a meal every day might become a luxury," says housekeeper May Oo, who now spends 60% of her salary on her daily...
...leaders are leading ever more ostentatious lives, their wallets fattened by gas-pipeline deals with neighbors China, Thailand and India. The ruling class cruises around in luxury cars and cloisters itself in compounds ablaze with lights, even as most Burmese face constant electricity rationing. A samizdat video circulating in Rangoon shows junta chief Than Shwe's daughter, decked out in jewels, getting married in a lavish ceremony - this in a country where the average annual per capita income is just $225. Even more galling, the junta turned a thicket of jungle into a brand new administrative capital in late...