Demonstrations in Myanmar 2007

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A procession of monks demonstrating in Rangoon. Some wave the international Buddhist flag .

The demonstrations in Myanmar (until 1989 Burma or Burma ) began on August 19, 2007. At the beginning they were directed against drastic price increases and soon expanded to protest against the military dictatorship that had ruled since 1962 . The protests were led by Buddhist monks ( bhikkhu ) and nuns ( bhikkhuni ), who were soon joined by tens of thousands of other civilians. The movement gained worldwide attention through its violent crackdown more than a month later, which also included violence against monks. The number of monks and demonstrators killed varies between ten people (junta) and several thousand (renegades of the junta).

Of international media was used for the operations - related to other so-called color revolutions , the term - Safran -revolution (: English Saffron Revolution ) dominated, although the robes of the monks in Myanmar traditional crimson are.

course

Price increases and first protests

Map of Myanmar
Protesting monks on September 24th in the Shwedagon Pagoda .

On August 15, 2007, the ruling State Council for Peace and Development (SPDC) party raised heavily subsidized fuel prices. These rose by 66 to 100 percent, and compressed natural gas suddenly cost five times the previous price.

In protest against the deteriorating living conditions, a march of people formed on August 19, 2007 through Myanmar's largest city, Yangon . The organizers were the students of the '88 generation , a group of human rights activists that had already started a popular uprising for democracy in 1988. More than 400 people attended the rallies, which lasted three days. The government intervened on August 21, apparently attempting to prevent a major popular uprising through targeted arrests. In addition to ordinary demonstrators, many political opponents of the regime and a large proportion of the leaders of the '88 generation students were arrested, but mostly released after a day.

On September 3, 2007, the National Assembly of Myanmar adopted a new constitution , claiming that the demonstrators' actions sought to delay the completion of the constitution and disrupt the government's strategic plan for democracy . The government accused the protesters of "sabotaging the National Assembly and attempting [...] to contact foreign terrorist organizations in order to carry out destructive acts." The military junta said there were a total of 15 arrests for questioning .

Despite the persistent crackdown on the part of the security forces and militias, the protests continued and spread to other cities in the following two weeks.

Monks join the protests

On September 5, a group of almost 600 monks demonstrated for the first time in the city of Pakokku in the Magwe division against the poor living conditions. As the cost of living rose in the wake of the price increases, the alms that Buddhist monks receive from the population have also become more sparse. Thousands of spectators watched the protest march and cheered the monks. The military also intervened in the events for the first time and fired several warning shots. Finally, there were sometimes brutal attacks by the military. Monks and civilians were beaten with bamboo sticks, handcuffed and detained to break up the demonstration.

The following day, monks from the Maha Visutarama Monastery (also Mahavithutarama Monastery ) in Pakokku temporarily arrested a group of about twenty government officials and set four of their vehicles on fire. Officials, including the Peace and Development Council chairman for Pakkoku and a representative from Magwe's religious affairs department, were reportedly sent to apologize for the previous day's violent attacks. Various sources say that the group was either released that afternoon at the request of the monastery chief or escaped through a back door on their own. During the night, angry monks devastated a residential and commercial building belonging to government supporters. The monks in Pakokku rejected an offer from the state for financial reparation on September 9th. Instead, they complained about the deliberate misrepresentation of the September 5 incidents in the media and demanded a formal apology from the government. In the state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar , which is published daily by the government's Ministry of Information, it was said, among other things, that the monks had grossly defied the instructions of the authorities and a religious leader. The soldiers saw it as a danger for the bystanders and could only disperse the monks with three warning shots. The arrests and assaults were not reported.

A group called the All Burma Monks' Alliance ( Alliance of all Burmese monks ) called on September 12, the ultimate military regime to deliver an apology by September 17 for cracking down on the monks in Pakokku. Otherwise you will no longer accept alms from military personnel. By giving alms, a Buddhist tries to generate good karma in order to eventually escape the cycle of rebirth and enter nirvana . In strictly religious Myanmar, refusal to accept alms is therefore a threat that must be taken seriously. When the required official apology by the military government failed to materialize by September 17, more than 700 monks formed another protest march in the small town of Kyaukpadaung. Kyaukpadaung in the Mandalay Division , not far from Mount Popa , is the seat of 40 Buddhist monasteries with more than 1000 monks. This march marked the beginning of a wave of demonstrations across the country.

On September 22, a march of around 500 monks in Rangoon managed to break into the house of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi after negotiations with security officials . Access to their property was usually blocked. Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been under house arrest there since the end of May 2003, appeared at the gate of the property for a few minutes and prayed with the demonstrators.

By September 24, the protests had spread across the country. While trains of around a hundred monks were still wandering the streets of the Sagaing Division of Shwebo reciting metta sutta , the All Burma Monks' Alliance demanded national reconciliation, the release of all political prisoners and the alleviation of daily misery. In Rangoon, between 100,000 and 130,000 people took to the streets. Many monks called on students and civilians to take part in the demonstrations. Burmese celebrities and opposition figures assured the Protestants of their help. Food packages, water and medicine were distributed to the demonstrating monks. While representatives of various ethnic minorities expressed their support for the monks, for others it was a fight between Bamar and Bamar that did not concern them themselves. Due to the riots, the administration of Rangoon closed some middle and high schools in the city. The security forces and the military have so far held back and let the crowds go unmolested. Eyewitnesses reported that there was little to no police presence. The exiled web service Mizzima News said the government had tried to break up the demonstrations with tear gas. Due to the persistent rain that day, however, this attempt was unsuccessful.

The military intervenes

Flag of the National League for Democracy with a fighting (sometimes interpreted as dancing) peacock.

The government feared the loss of control due to the sharp increase in the number of demonstrators, which is why it arranged for a TV broadcast on a state channel on the evening of September 24th. In it, the Minister of Religion, Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung, condemned the protests as the work of internal and external troublemakers. The military would take matters into their own hands if it were not resolved within the Sangha community. Religious leaders of the state-controlled Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee ( coordinating committee for monks ) banned the monks from participating in further protests.

While the high Buddhist dignitaries remained loyal to the government, the subordinate monks and novices defied the instruction. Although the government had warned against participating in the demonstrations via loudspeaker vans, up to 100,000 people took to the streets in Yangon alone on September 25. Some protesters waved the flag, which is banned in Myanmar, with the fighting peacock, the traditional symbol of the student resistance movement. The National League for Democracy ( NLD ), Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, issued a statement supporting the demonstrations and calling on those in power to engage in dialogue.

The military showed increasing presence. Military vehicles were posted around the town hall. In the evening, the government imposed a night curfew on the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and renewed the long-standing ban on gatherings. That same night, two celebrities were arrested at their homes: the self-proclaimed nationalist Amyotheryei Win Naing and the actor Zarganar . Both had supported the protesting monks with food gifts.

The escalation in Rangoon

September 26th

A march of civilians and monks in Rangoon.
The southern entrance to Shwedagon Pagoda .

The situation came to a head on September 26th. Despite the warnings, the demonstrators defied the ban and once again took to the streets by the thousands. The military, the police and several militia troops, some of them civilian, tried to stop the protests. The main streets were blocked with barbed wire barriers and the main meeting places of the protesters were cordoned off as a precaution. The security forces often aroused the anger of the population, as they entered religiously revered places such as the Shwedagon Pagoda with shoes and thus desecrated them.

A report by the Human Rights Watch association describes the events in central Rangoon based on testimony. The Shwedagon Pagoda, Thakin Mya Park and in front of the Sule Pagoda saw the most deaths and injuries that day.

A group of several hundred people, mainly consisting of monks, tried to get into the cordoned off Shwedagon Pagoda in the morning. The group was held by soldiers and police on one of the staircases to the pagoda and locked between barbed wire barricades. A monk later reported that security forces had asked the monks to get into waiting military vehicles to be taken back to their monasteries. The group feared they would be detained, which is why they refused to obey the order. By noon a large crowd of civilians and students had gathered around the group in the center of the barricade, whereupon the military requested assistance. The crowd reacted indignantly to the treatment of the monks, whose requests for release with reference to the ban on assembly went unanswered. Some monks are said to have been beaten before sitting on the ground and reciting metta prayers.

Shortly thereafter, the situation escalated. While police were pulling students from the group to take them away, some monks jumped up to flee over a wall to a neighboring monastery. As a result, the security forces started beating the praying people with bamboo sticks and rubber truncheons. The crowd behind the barricade was in an uproar. Some tried to support the captured monks and threw stones at the police. Many panicked and fled when soldiers fired aerial shots, tear gas and smoke bombs. In the crowd that followed, numerous civilians and monks were arrested or knocked unconscious. Many were put on trucks and driven out of town.

Similar riots occurred near Thakin Mya Park and in front of Sule Pagoda. A train of several hundred monks and civilians was stopped there by security forces in the early afternoon. They did not comply with the order to break up the protest march. After the military and militias let the women and children go, the remaining people were crowded together. There were confrontations and stones thrown, to which the soldiers reacted with shots without warning. Many people were arrested here too. Demonstrations also took place in the cities of Mandalay and Akjab . Despite the news of the brutal attacks and soldiers on patrol, the protests in the streets of Yangon did not stop until evening.

The exact number of deaths and injuries that day remains unclear. According to the Myanmar state newspaper, there was only one fatality and eleven injured, including three demonstrators and eight police officers. The news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported three dead, citing official sources , and the opposition broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma said eight people were shot dead and about 150 injured, according to eyewitness reports.

At the instigation of Great Britain and France , the UN Security Council was called to an emergency meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly . A formal condemnation of the military actions as well as tougher sanctions against Myanmar failed due to the veto of its closest ally China . The panel only issued a statement calling on the junta in its seat of government, Naypyidaw, to cooperate. A special envoy from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was assigned to travel to the country and report back. The government of Myanmar was urged to grant him entry and a meeting with opposition political leaders as soon as possible.

September 27th

On the night of September 27, the military searched at least nine Buddhist monasteries in Rangoon and others in the northeast of the country. Hundreds of monks, mostly suspected leaders of the previous day's protests, have been arrested and beaten. It is said to have been looted. Several opposition politicians were also arrested, including NLD spokesman Myint Thein. Important access roads and the Sule Pagoda in the center, traditionally the target of previous protests, were blocked with barbed wire barriers. The military increased its units and government officials were told not to leave the office during the day. Most of the private offices, shops and schools remained closed. Local residents reported that the public bus lines also ran much less frequently that day.

Despite the experiences of the previous day, people took to the streets again. The exact number of protesters varies between 70,000 and 200,000 and is difficult to estimate. All over Rangoon there were clashes between soldiers and protesters, among them only a handful of monks. Larger gatherings like the 40,000 people around the Sule Pagoda were disbanded by the military. Soldiers used loudspeakers to warn the protesters that they had orders to shoot anyone who violated the ban on assembly. Some demonstrators ignored the instructions and provoked the soldiers by throwing stones and bottles. As on the previous day, there were numerous arrests and targeted shots at demonstrators.

Similar riots broke out in Mandalay, the country's second largest city. Security forces cordoned off monasteries and pagodas. Monks were either locked up or asked not to go out on the streets. Here too, numerous protesters were beaten and arrested. However, there were no deaths.

According to official government figures, nine people died in Rangoon that day. In addition, there are eleven injured demonstrators and thirty-one wounded soldiers. Human Rights Watch was able to confirm the deaths of seven people through later testimony reports, dissidents said up to two hundred dead. This time, a foreigner was among the victims: the 50-year-old Japanese Kenji Nagai was probably hit by a ricochet and fatally injured. According to The New Light of Myanmar newspaper , he worked as a photojournalist during the riots, even though he only applied for a tourist visa upon arrival . "Since the beginning of the protests not a single foreign journalist has been granted an entry visa," reported the Tagesspiegel a few days earlier.

September 28th

Protest march in Rangoon before September 27th. "Nonviolence. National movement. "

On the third day of the violent clashes, up to 30,000 demonstrators took to the streets again. After almost all the monasteries and pagodas within Rangoon had been cordoned off, there were hardly any monks among the demonstrators. Most had been arrested during the nightly searches or trapped within the walls of their monasteries. In addition to soldiers, the police, members of the government organization Union Solidarity and Development Association ( Association for Solidarity and Development , USDA) and militias ( Swan Arrshin ), the regime now also uses former prisoners to fight the mob . Since the prisons could no longer accommodate the thousands arrested, they were sent to detention centers . Eyewitnesses reported the first signs of the government's disintegration. The local government offices remained closed, the officers did not appear on duty or went into hiding. Although state schools were open, most students stayed away from classes.

In the morning, the entire Internet connection and most of the cell phone and telephone networks collapsed. This made further reporting difficult, as little information reached other countries and could not be checked independently of one another. The Post and Telecommunications Authority said the reason for the interruption was the break of an undersea cable . Only about 1% of the population in Myanmar had direct access to the internet and many international news portals had been blocked since 2005, so that at the time of the interruption the international media knew more about what was going on inside the country than the Burmese themselves. It is therefore suspected that the government deliberately shut down the networks to prevent messages, pictures and films from the protests from reaching overseas. In addition, several private magazines stopped distributing them because of censorship pressures and government orders that they should print pro-regime propaganda against the protest marches.

In Mandalay, soldiers refused to shoot protesters and monks. Even in the higher ranks, opinions are said to have been divided. In contrast to the head of state Than Shwe , the camp around his direct representative, General Maung Aye , spoke out against the violent suppression of the demonstrations. Than Shwe is said to have personally commanded the troops in Rangoon on September 27 after several military commanders refused to order violence against the demonstrators.

According to an amateur video broadcast on Japanese television, the Japanese journalist who was killed the previous day did not appear to have been hit by a ricochet. The footage shows how Nagai falls to the ground at the edge of the fleeing crowd in front of the Sule Pagoda. A soldier stands in close proximity holding a machine gun aimed at him while gunfire can be heard. "Given the angle of his weapon, this soldier appears to be shooting him," said Koichi Ito, a former Japanese police officer, the private broadcaster that posted the video. Japan, one of Burma's largest humanitarian donors, has asked the regime to be fully investigated. The Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win expressed his regret in a conversation with his Japanese counterpart Masahiko Kōmura on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and countered that the protests were "organized by foreign elements with a view to the General Assembly".

Provisional state of rest in Rangoon

September 29th

On September 29, the government announced that the popular uprising had failed and that law and order had been restored. The state newspaper advised the population to only trust news from reliable sources from the Ministry of Information. Broadcasters like the BBC and Voice of America were declared to be spreading lies.

By noon, significantly fewer demonstrators dared to take to the streets than on the previous days. In Rangoon only small groups were observed, which were forcibly broken up by the military. When the UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari was due to arrive in Rangoon, the number of protesters swelled to nearly ten thousand, only to disperse again shortly afterwards. However, Gambari immediately flew on to the new capital Naypyidaw .

Outside of Rangoon, however, there were major riots. In Pakokku, the city where the protests began, thousands of people, led by a few hundred monks, demonstrated for two hours. The authorities reportedly tolerated the march as long as it remained peaceful. Further demonstrations with up to 30,000 participants have been reported from the cities of Mandalay, Akjab and Kyaukpadaung.

In the northern Burmese city of Myitkyina in Kachin State USDA went to print more than 30,000 people to the streets to take part in a rally for the completed recently Constitution. A similar event was held in Taung Tha Township, Mandalay Division. In the mass rallies, recent protests by monks and civilians were sharply criticized by high-ranking USDA members.

30. September

Head of State Than Shwe , October 2010.

While the Ministry of Religious Affairs was restoring a devastated monastery in the area, UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest, in a state guest house in Rangoon on September 30. He had previously spoken in Naypyidaw with the representative of the head of state, General Maung Aye, General Thura Shwe Mann and the then Deputy Prime Minister Thein Sein . Than Shwe stayed away from the meeting, but announced that the strategic plan for democracy , which included a referendum on the drafted constitution and then elections, would be completed within a year and a half.

Contrary to the government's information of a total of ten dead, reports by former military man Hla Win suggested that more than a thousand demonstrators had been killed and hundreds of bodies of executed monks had been buried in the jungle. Hla Win, senior junta renegade member and former head of military intelligence in northern Rangoon, fled with his son to neighboring Thailand after the order was given to shoot the monks. "I'm a Buddhist," he told a Norwegian broadcaster. "I don't want to kill monks."

Raids, searches and arrests of monasteries and private homes continued to take place in Rangoon. In the internet blog of the exiled Burmese Ko Htike, an eyewitness described the attack by the military on the Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery in Rangoon:

“A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and crushed each one's head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then, they gate off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away. The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the monastery, tortured, bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every try to forge ahead was met with the bayonets. When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the monastery. "

“A troop of paid thugs […] attacked the monastery where 200 monks were studying. They systematically asked all monks to line up and then hit their heads on the brick wall of the monastery until they were crushed. One after the other […] fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then they tore their robes off their bodies, threw them all together like sacks of rice on the military trucks and took them away. They hung the headmaster in the center of the monastery, beat him up and mistreated him. He died that same day. Tens of thousands gathered outside the monastery, pushed back by troops [...] unable to help their helpless monks while they were being butchered inside. When it was all over, there were ten left of 200 hiding inside the monastery. There was blood everywhere on the walls and on the floor. "

- An eyewitness account of one of the numerous attacks on monasteries after the violent suppression of the democracy movement

October 1

After the protests almost came to a standstill, the barriers in Rangoon's main streets and around the pagodas were removed. However, soldiers remained posted on many street corners and key positions to prevent demonstrators from gathering. Passers-by were searched for cameras that could possibly be used to take pictures of the riots and smuggle them abroad. The internet connections were still cut.

Held by public protest rallies, the residents of Rangoon now practiced silent protest. As part of the lights-out campaign , they boycotted the domestic media to express their dissatisfaction. At 8:00 p.m., they turned off the lights and the television for a quarter of an hour. Around this time, the hour-long newscast on state television, which usually broadcasts propaganda for the junta, begins.

About half of the stores in Rangoon were open, but their customers were a minority compared to the military presence. Only a few monks were seen in public. Three to four thousand had been taken to makeshift prisons on the outskirts of the city in the course of the raids on their monasteries. Some were reportedly on hunger strike. In addition, a large part of the robes and thus the religious status should have been withdrawn.

The UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari had to wait for a meeting with head of state Than Shwe. This was dated October 2nd by urging China. Meanwhile, Gambari traveled to Shan State to attend a seminar on relations between the European Union and Southeast Asia . During this stay he briefly took part in a propaganda event organized by the military junta in support of the Strategic Plan for Democracy .

October 2nd

After a three-day wait, Ibrahim Gambari was received by ruler Than Shwe and several other high-ranking junta members. At first nothing was known about the results of the meeting in the capital Naypyidaw. Before Gambari left the country for Singapore, he met Aung San Suu Kyi a second time for a quarter of an hour conversation. At the UN General Assembly, the Burmese Foreign Minister, Nyan Win, made “political opportunists” who were “supported by powerful countries” responsible for the escalation of events. He described the demonstrators led by the monks as “provocative mob”. The regime had exercised “extreme restraint”.

The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling on the junta to refrain from violence and lift restrictions on peaceful demonstrators. Other states and alliances around the world announced that they did not accept the actions of the military government of Myanmar.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Than Shwe's family left the country on September 27th. The whereabouts, however, remained uncertain. The information ranges from Laos to Singapore to Dubai. The businessman Tay Za (also Teza ), a close friend of the Than Shwes family and one of the richest men in Myanmar, is also out of the country, media reported. On September 28th he had closed his company Htoo Trading for two months and had the employees paid their salaries in advance.

The night curfews in Rangoon and Mandalay have been shortened to between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.

Start of the targeted arrests

October 3

On October 3rd, there was tense calm in Rangoon. The military police drove through the city with loudspeaker vans and threatened: "We have photos, we will make arrests". After the curfew began, the military carried out house searches under cover of night. People were taken out of their homes and taken away on trucks. A local employee of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was also arrested along with her family members. Western media suspected tactics behind the action: "[The government] kept the internet open long enough to allow [their] own internet detectives to download the pictures and recordings of the street protests and to identify the demonstrators."

About 80 monks and 150 nuns have meanwhile been released. They were not physically tortured, but they would have had to exchange their robes for civilian clothing, which amounts to excommunication . Local residents in Rangoon reported countless monks who fled the big city to the countryside. The AFP agency published reports that 150,000 Burmese have already sought refuge in Thailand's refugee camps.

Japan announced that it was considering prosecuting those responsible for the murder of photojournalist Kenji Nagai. The Deputy Foreign Minister Yabunaka protested against the incident in Naypyidaw and demanded a full investigation of the incident. Japan had considered ending planned humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, a Japanese newspaper reported. In addition, consideration was given to terminating some running utilities.

4th of October

The body of the killed Kenji Nagai was transferred to Tokyo and should now be autopsied. The APF News , for which Nagai worked, requested the Myanmar military regime to hand over the camera that Nagai had used to film until the last moment. So far only a replacement camera had been handed over.

During the negotiations with Ibrahim Gambari and with the prospect of the upcoming handling of the incidents before the UN Security Council, the military junta surprisingly agreed to enter into a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. If she gives up the calls for "confrontation, total destruction, economic sanctions and all other sanctions", General Than Shwe is ready to have a personal conversation with her, state media reported. The fact that the junta even considered meeting the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was seen by observers as a sign of flexibility. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said that his envoy's mission "could certainly not be considered a success".

Myanmar state media admitted that a total of 2,093 people had been arrested and 692 released since September 25. Among them was UNDP employee Mynt Ngwe Mon, who was arrested the day before. The BBC relied on the report of a released prisoner and spoke of 6,000 to 10,000 people who are said to have been arrested and interrogated in the past few days. US diplomats reported that they had visited fifteen monasteries, all of which were deserted, others were barricaded and guarded by soldiers. In Mandalay, fifty students were sentenced to five years in a hard labor camp for participating in marches.

5th October

For the first time in eight days, people in Myanmar had access to the Internet again. However, the Internet connections were cut again at the end of the curfew. Since most residents are dependent on Internet cafés, they were still denied access to the Internet. Security forces in Rangoon tried to search computers belonging to various UN agencies located in the city. However, the UN staff requested a written request to be sent to the responsible coordinator. When this arrived, there was only talk of wanting to check the licenses for the satellite telephones. To protect against attacks on leaders of the protests, the UN staff had meanwhile deleted the data on the hard drives.

For the first time in years, state television broadcast pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi. In reporting on the meeting with Ibrahim Gambari, she was also conspicuously named with the polite form of address Daw . In the past, state propaganda had even omitted the Aung San name in order to downplay their connection to her father Bogyoke Aung San . Aung San is celebrated as a folk hero in Myanmar because he was instrumental in bringing the country out of British rule in 1948 . The opposition party, the National League for Democracy , had initially rejected the junta leadership's offer to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi because of the conditions. Surprisingly, the highest diplomatic representative of the USA in Myanmar also received an invitation to speak. Shari Villarosa had loudly criticized the violent suppression of the democracy movement.

In New York, Ibrahim Gambari briefed the UN Security Council on his mission. Gambari called for the release of all political prisoners and expressed concern about the situation in Myanmar.

“Of great concern to the United Nations and the international community are the continuing and disturbing reports of abuses being committed by security and non-uniformed elements, particularly at night during curfew, including raids on private homes, beatings, arbitrary arrests, and disappearances. ”

“What is of particular concern to the United Nations and the international community are the persistent and worrying reports of ill-treatment by security forces and non-uniformed elements, particularly during the night curfew. This includes raids on private homes, beatings, arbitrary arrests and disappearances. "

- Ibrahim Gambari : Speech to the UN Security Council on October 5, 2007 about the situation in Burma.

The US demand for sanctions against the leading junta members before the United Nations was again rejected by China, which vehemently vetoed it. The events in Myanmar are an internal matter and therefore do not pose a threat to international peace, argued China's ambassador Wang Guangya. Pressure would not help fix the problem, but instead could lead to distrust and confrontation.

Myanmar itself warned the United Nations against acting too quickly, which could damage the government's image it needs to defuse the crisis. Myanmar Ambassador Kyaw Tint Swe assured that many of those arrested have already been released. At that time, 2,095 people, 728 of them monks, had already been released. Kyaw Tint Swe announced further releases.

For the time being, it remained with a call for increased efforts towards democracy and respect for human rights for the military government by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In addition, the junta should open unconditional talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and relax her house arrest. The Western diplomats said they were drafting a statement that the entire Council could agree to. Gambari announced a new mission to Myanmar before mid-November.

October 7th and 8th

According to a report in the British newspaper Sunday Times on October 7th, the regime has allegedly carried out cremations in a crematorium in Rangoon since September 28th. The Sunday Times relied on reports from local residents. All public hospitals are said to have been instructed not to treat the injured. The government also refused to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the prison camps to check the prisoners' health. Apparently these measures attempted to make it impossible to determine the exact number of victims and prisoners.

The night raids continued. In the October 7 issue of The New Light of Myanmar , the newspaper reported for the first time in detail about the raids on monasteries. According to this, a total of eighteen monasteries are said to have been searched in which high clergymen who led, caused, supported or participated in the unrest were supposed to have stayed. The newspaper goes on to say that the security forces were unable to distinguish between monks, novices and “swindlers” during the raids, so that 513 monks, one novice, 167 men and 30 women were taken into custody. Of these, however, 404 monks, the novice, 158 men and all women had been declared innocent and released by October 5. The newspaper went on to say that numerous evidence of serious offenses against the Buddhist religious rules had been found in some monasteries . Among other things, 42 VCDs and other media with pornographic content, portraits of women, condoms, women's and men's clothing, love letters, valuables such as watches and cell phones, loan agreements, several bottles of alcohol, various weapons (including a loaded pistol, swords, nunchucks , a ax, wood and iron bars and thirteen spinning), betting lists, documents on illegal lotteries, three card game sets, one anti-government poetry book and a diary recordings of speeches of the National League for democracy , a badge with the fighting peacock Invitations by student groups of 88- Generation listed for robe donations, a Nazi headband and two USA headbands. In addition, it was discovered that in some monasteries women slept in buildings in which monks also lived. The state paper described the revelation of these circumstances as "regrettable". “Monks must follow the Buddha's Vinayapitaka rules, the rules, ordinances, and instructions issued by the State Sangha Maya Nayaka Committee , and state laws. If they violate any of these regulations, action can be taken against them, ”according to the state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.

At the same time, the regime made amends. In an editorial in The New Light of Myanmar a day later, generous donations of money and goods by the military to clergy were reported with an estimated value of € 1,140,000 (as of November 2010). The protesting monks had originally announced that they would no longer accept donations from members of the military. As before, many monks and nuns went underground for a while and hid in the apartments of friends.

October 9th and 10th

The state press announced the appointment of a liaison officer to liaise with Aung San Suu Kyi on October 9th. "Out of respect for Ibrahim A. Gambari's recommendation and in view of the smooth relationship with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Deputy Minister of Labor U Aung Kyi was given the task of Minister of Relations," it said. The opposition National League for Democracy expressed cautious optimism. The regime shows some pragmatism . According to an official of the International Labor Organization in Rangoon, the ex-general had already proven himself in the past in resolving difficult situations.

The underground organization All Burma Monks' Alliance , which first spoke up on September 12, threatened China with boycotting the Olympic Games . If China continues to oppose a condemnation of Myanmar in the UN Security Council, the group will call on monks around the world to campaign for an Olympic boycott.

Five generals and more than 400 soldiers were arrested for refusing to shoot protesters. While the targeted arrests continued unabated, it became known that a member of the opposition National League for Democracy had died during interrogation. Ko Win Shwe, 42, was arrested near Mandalay on September 26th. The authorities informed his family of his death on October 9th, stating that the body had already been cremated. More and more eyewitnesses reported the inhumane conditions and torture in the detention centers and prisons.

The unrest and its violent suppression brought Myanmar's tourism industry to the verge of paralysis. The junta made its own contribution by instructing its embassies to reject visa applications, presumably for fear of journalists entering the country. The number of overnight stays and flight bookings by tourists and business people fell dramatically, with hotels cutting their prices by up to 80% in order to fill the rooms. Flights to Mandalay or Rangoon had to be canceled due to the curfew, and many airlines completely stopped their flights to the country. The state-owned Myanmar Airways International ceased operations on the routes to Thailand and Malaysia after the English insurer suspended the coverage for the three aircraft in view of the unstable conditions. The Foreign Office in Germany - like other Western governments - advised against travel that is not absolutely necessary.

It remained questionable whether the calls by government critics to vacationers not to enter the country made sense. An airline from Bangkok reported that the end of tourism would affect the population alone. Myanmar earns its money from the country's natural resources. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council ( World Travel and Tourism Council ) in London hung back then around 1.3 million jobs (6% of all employment in the country) on the tourism industry.

The Internet was now accessible again during the daytime, even if the connection remained unstable.

October 11-30

Under pressure from permanent members Russia and China, the UN Security Council only issued a moderated statement on October 11 to crack down on the protest movement. Accordingly, the Security Council "regretted" the use of force against peaceful demonstrators. No conviction was pronounced. The panel again appealed to the junta to release all political prisoners. The military government in Myanmar also regretted the statement, reiterating that the uprisings had "harmed neither regional and international peace nor security". In a statement on state television, the junta said: "Maintaining good relations with countries in the region and around the world, as well as offering full cooperation with the United Nations is Burma's foreign policy." Nevertheless, one does not want to be influenced by foreign powers.

After the regime had been organizing mass demonstrations for days to demonstrate support for its strategic plan for democracy , it dared to hold such a demonstration in Rangoon for the first time on October 12. The demonstrators had to express their solidarity with those in power and slander the opposition . According to official figures, 120,000 people attended the event. However, according to eyewitness reports, many were directly or indirectly forced to participate or lured with money. On the same day for a long time seriously ill Prime Minister died Soe Win of leukemia . His office was transferred to his previous representative, Thein Sein.

Also on October 12, authorities arrested three of the last leaders of the mid-August democracy movement still free, Thin Thin Aye, Aung Htoo and Htay Kywe, who had played a prominent role in the 1988 uprising.

Under the title Attempts to damage friendships , the state newspaper The New Light of Myanmar gave a detailed report on the killing of the Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai in its October 15 issue. Accordingly, Nagai had the bad luck, as an Asian, not to have been recognized as a foreigner among Asians. And since he acted in the front line, the security guards had no choice but to target him. He is also complicit in his death because he sneaked into the country as a tourist, while in truth he was "dishonorable" as a journalist. If he had applied for a visa as a journalist, he would have been sure of the support of the government. The report denied reports from other news outlets abroad that Nagai was deliberately killed.

The actor Zarganar, who was arrested on September 25 for supporting the protesting monks, was released from prison on October 17; likewise his colleague Kyaw Thu. The latter was arrested on October 11th after rumors that he had fled to Thailand.

The internet was accessible again from October 14th. However, Internet cafes have been instructed to stricter controls in order to continue to decimate legal violations. Furthermore, on October 15, the curfews in Rangoon and Mandalay were shortened to the time between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. and completely lifted on October 20. The ban on gathering for groups of more than five people was also lifted.

Another demonstration by monks

For the first time after the violent crackdown on the demonstrations, between 100 and 200 monks took to the streets on October 31 in Pakokku, where the unrest had started. They are said to have sung and prayed, but not made any overt political statements. The security forces held back this time, but called in those responsible from five monasteries the following day and advised them not to organize any further marches. The monks announced that the protests would continue as long as the government did not comply with demands for lower prices for goods, national reconciliation and the release of political prisoners. As a result, internet access was interrupted again the next day, officially due to technical problems. It was restored on November 3rd, albeit at a "snail's pace".

International reactions

A march for the freedom of Myanmar on October 6, 2007 in Toronto , Canada.
A rally in London on October 9, 2007 .

When the bloody crackdown became known, several states immediately called on the Burmese government not to use force against the protesters. China and Russia prevented sanctions against the military regime in the UN Security Council, but on September 27, China called on all parties in the country to be prudent. In view of his usual policy of non-interference, this statement was already viewed positively.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 27, the ASEAN international community expressed its “disgust” for the regime’s actions. India, which had hitherto behaved rather cautiously towards the regime, demanded the release of Aung San Suu Kyi on October 2 on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. "The government of India thinks that the release of Aung San Suu Kyi will be helpful in terms of the process of democratization and that it can contribute to the emergence of Myanmar as a democratic state," India's Foreign Ministry said in a press release. It was the first time India appealed to Myanmar since the early 1990s.

On October 2, 2007, France declared that it supported sanctions against the military junta, but immediately put this statement into perspective. Sanctions would not have immediate effect. The reason for the hesitant attitude could be that the French oil company Total has been active in Myanmar since 1992 and is one of the local market leaders. Total would not be spared from sanctions if Paris took them, admitted Foreign Minister and former advisor to the group Bernard Kouchner . Already on September 26, French President had Nicolas Sarkozy media attention the prime minister of the exile government National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (German: National Coalition Government of the Union Burma ), Dr. His win, received and urged international corporations not to make any more investments in Myanmar.

In an intergroup motion initiated by CDU MP Holger Haibach and passed on October 10, 2007, the German Bundestag condemned the junta's actions and demanded tightening of the sanctions against the military rulers.

At a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers on October 15, 2007, the states of the European Union agreed in principle to tighten sanctions against Myanmar. On November 19, it renewed and supplemented the EU sanctions against high-ranking Junta members and companies, some of which had existed since 1996.

After several weeks of hesitation, Japan decided to follow the example of the EU countries and set an example. On October 16, the Japanese government canceled a multi-million dollar grant that was being discussed for the establishment of a training center at Rangoon University.

On October 29, the United States tightened entry bans for military personnel and ordered the freezing of the assets of a total of 25 military and 12 civilian persons who were closely related to the regime.

The protests in Myanmar also led to global solidarity rallies. On October 4, 2007, on the initiative of some bloggers, the “Free Burma” campaign was carried out to draw attention to the situation in Myanmar. Amnesty International, together with other human rights organizations, called for a global day of action for Myanmar on October 6th . Protest rallies against the military regime formed in many cities around the world that day. Among other things, hundreds of people in Melbourne , Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok expressed their sympathy for the fate of the people in Myanmar, but also their unwillingness to accept China's position in the UN Security Council. Events have also been planned for Austria , Belgium , Great Britain, France, Spain , Ireland , Switzerland , New Zealand , the USA and Canada . Many of the demonstrators wore red clothes or ribbons tied around their arms and heads as a symbolic comparison to the monks' robes.

aftermath

A propaganda sign in Myanmar, 2008. “Tatmadaw (Myanmar's army) and the people in eternal unity. Anyone who tries to separate them is our enemy. "

The nationwide uprisings by monks, schoolchildren, civilians and students did not appear to have done what people took to the streets for. The poor conditions within the population persisted, as did the tough crackdown by the military. The government continued to broadcast propaganda in the state media. Among other things, it said that the people reject any kind of unrest and violence. The State Council for Peace and Development assures them the desired stability and the peace that they long for. Foreign news agencies had stoked the strife with their lies, so they were warned against them. The uprisings themselves were perpetrated by domestic and foreign saboteurs and neocolonialists . Newspapers made it clear that the population themselves suffered the greatest damage from the demonstrations. According to Human Rights Watch , which published a detailed report of the events in December 2007 based on numerous testimonies, raids and occupations of monasteries were still carried out at the time of publication. Many of the imprisoned monks have still not returned. Some monasteries are said to have been closed completely.

The mediation talks initiated by the government between Aung San Suu Kyi and Relationship Minister Aung Kyi remained an international ray of hope. However, this ended after only five appointments in late January 2008. In May 2009, a few days before her house arrest expired, Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for accommodating an American in her house.

On November 7, 2010, parliamentary elections were held in Myanmar for the first time in 20 years as part of the Strategic Plan for Democracy . The representatives for the lower house, the upper house and the parliaments of the provinces and union states were determined. However, international observers and government opponents criticize that the elections were neither free nor fair. Those under arrest or in prison were released from their right to vote or stand as a candidate. Aung San Suu Kyi was also expelled from her National League for Democracy party at the urging of the government . Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on November 13, 2010, just six days after the parliamentary elections.

Note on the Burmese place names

This article uses the place names as they appear in the German language Wikipedia as a lemma . If not further explained, these are the terms that have been used in Myanmar since 1989. (→ see: Myanmar's country name )

See also

literature

  • Human Rights Watch (Ed.): Crackdown . Repression of the 2007 Popular Protests in Burma. Vol. 19, 18 (c), December 2007 (English, hrw.org [PDF; 1.8 MB ]).
  • Wolfram Schaffar: Democracy Movement in Myanmar: Movement Veterans, Monks and Color Revolutionaries. In: Globalization brings movement. Local struggles and transnational networks in Asia. Münster 2009, 152–169.
  • Stephanie Wang, Shishir Nagaraja: Pulling the Plug. (PDF; 0.6 MB) A Technical Review of the Internet Shutdown in Burma. In: OpenNet Initiative. Citizen Lab, Munk Center for International Studies, University of Toronto / Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University / SecDev Group (Ottawa), October 22, 2007, accessed November 17, 2010 .

Web links

 Wikinews: Portal: Myanmar  - In The News
Commons : Demonstrations in Myanmar 2007  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Burma: 2007 Protests Against Fuel Prices. (PDF; 125 kB) A collection of statements and urgent appeals issued on the protests against increased fuel prices in Burma. In: Burma People's Protest. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong, August 2009, p. 1 , accessed October 8, 2010 .
  2. ↑ a b Human Rights Watch (ed.): Crackdown . Chapter III: Price Hikes, Peaceful Protests, and the Initial Reaction of the Authorities .
  3. ^ Government of the Union of Myanmar to take preventive measures against terrorist destructive acts by internal and external terrorist groups . In: The New Light of Myanmar . Volume XV, No.  146 , September 9, 2007, pp. 16 ( burmalibrary.org [PDF; 4.3 MB ; Retrieved November 4, 2010] “[The activists] were sabotaging the National Convention and trying to create the dialogue they wanted and to contact foreign-based terrorist organizations in order to carry out terrorist destructive acts.”).
  4. ↑ a b Human Rights Watch (ed.): Crackdown . Chapter IV: The Monks Join the Protests .
  5. ↑ Pakokku monks release detained officials. In: BurmaNet News. September 6, 2007, archived from the original on March 10, 2016 ; Retrieved October 26, 2010 .
  6. ↑ a b Myanmar monks seek apology from junta. In: Daily Times Pakistan. September 12, 2007, archived from the original on October 11, 2007 ; Retrieved September 21, 2010 .
  7. ^ Aye Nai: Monks offered compensation by government officials. In: Democratic Voice of Burma. September 11, 2007, archived from the original on January 10, 2011 ; Retrieved October 4, 2010 .
  8. ↑ So-called '88' generation students and NLD released announcement the protest was a non-violent one . In: The New Light of Myanmar . Volume XV, No.  144 , September 7, 2007, pp. 16 ( burmalibrary.org [PDF; 4.6 MB ; accessed on December 8, 2010]).
  9. ↑ a b c Human Rights Watch (ed.): Crackdown . Chapter I: Summary .
  10. ^ A b Saw Yan Naing: Ethnics Join Protests. In: The Irrawaddy. September 24, 2007, accessed September 21, 2010 .
  11. ↑ Burma's golden revolution. In: Mizzima News. September 24, 2007, archived from the original on October 31, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
  12. ↑ a b Protests - Burma threatens bloodbath - Bush calls for sanctions. In: Der Tagesspiegel politics. September 25, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  13. ^ A b More than 1, 50,000 monks and civilians protest in Rangoon. In: Mizzima News. September 25, 2007, archived from the original on October 31, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
  14. ↑ Military government imposes curfew. In: T-Online news portal. September 25, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  15. ↑ a b Shots are fired in Rangoon - dead and injured. In: Spiegel Online . September 26, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  16. ↑ a b c Human Rights Watch (ed.): Crackdown . Chapter V: Crackdown , Section September 25-26: The Crackdown Begins .
  17. ↑ a b Burma: Soldiers storm monasteries in Rangoon - hundreds of arrests. In: Spiegel Online . September 27, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  18. ^ Protesters throw stones at members of security forces and use catapults . In: The New Light of Myanmar . Volume XV, No.  164 , September 27, 2007, p. 16 ( burmalibrary.org [PDF; 4.9 MB ; accessed on November 12, 2010]).
  19. ↑ a b c d Japanese journalist shot dead, another scribe receives bullet injuries. In: Mizzima News. September 27, 2007, archived from the original on October 31, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
  20. ↑ a b UN Security Council - China prevents Burma from being sentenced. In: Focus Online. September 26, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  21. ↑ a b Human Rights Watch (ed.): Crackdown . Chapter V: Crackdown , Section September 27: Attacks on and Emptying of the Monasteries .
  22. ↑ Violence in Burma - nine dead, several monasteries stormed. In: sueddeutsche.de. September 27, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  23. ↑ 9 Killed in 2nd day of Burma crackdown. In: Burma Digest. September 27, 2010, archived from the original on January 3, 2011 ; Retrieved October 16, 2010 .
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  26. ↑ a b Kenji Nagai: Shots at a defenseless man. In: Focus Online. September 28, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  27. ↑ a b c Speculation over possible confrontation among Burmese generals. In: Mizzima News. September 28, 2007, archived from the original on October 31, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
  28. ↑ a b Myanmar Internet down again after curfew, say residents. In: Inquirer.net. October 6, 2007, archived from the original on October 11, 2007 ; Retrieved September 23, 2010 .
  29. ↑ Stephanie Wang, Shishir Nagaraja: Pulling the Plug. (PDF; 0.6 MB) In: OpenNet Initiative. October 22, 2007, accessed on November 17, 2010 (see literature).
  30. ↑ Burmese journals suspend publication due to government demands. In: Democratic Voice of Burma. September 28, 2007, archived from the original on October 8, 2010 ; Retrieved October 4, 2010 .
  31. ↑ Burma ticker: Soldiers refuse to shoot monks. In: Welt Online . September 28, 2007, accessed September 22, 2010 .
  32. ↑ Execution in Burma: Japanese journalist shot dead. In: Spiegel Online . September 28, 2007, accessed on November 17, 2010 (video excerpt).
  33. ↑ Digital: Online videos against the military junta ( Memento from July 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ Japan demands answers over journalist death. In: Bangkok Post . Retrieved October 1, 2007 .
  35. ^ A b Peace and stability restored, traveling and marketing back to normal in Yangon . In: The New Light of Myanmar . Volume XV, No.  166 , September 29, 2007, p. 16 ( burmalibrary.org [PDF; 3.9 MB ; accessed on November 16, 2010]).
  36. ↑ a b c Than Shwe's right hand man Tayza-owned Htoo Company shut-down. In: Mizzima News. September 29, 2007, archived from the original on October 31, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
  37. ↑ a b New protests on Rangoon streets. In: BBC News. September 29, 2007, accessed October 6, 2010 .
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  39. ↑ USDA slams public protests at rally. In: Democratic Voice of Burma. September 30, 2007, archived from the original on October 8, 2010 ; Retrieved October 4, 2010 .
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  41. ↑ Government cleans up damage to raided monastery. In: Democratic Voice of Burma. September 30, 2007, archived from the original on October 8, 2010 ; Retrieved October 4, 2010 .
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  44. ^ Burmese Military Officer Seeks Political Asylum in Norway. In: Spiegel Online . October 4, 2007, accessed September 22, 2010 .
  45. ↑ Johannes Kuhn: Burmese Internet Activist - More eyes look at our country. In: sueddeutsche.de. October 4, 2007, accessed October 4, 2010 .
  46. ^ Sunday, September 30, 2007. In: Ko Htike's prosaic collection. September 30, 2007, accessed November 19, 2010 .
  47. ^ Army barricades lifted around key Myanmar temples. In: Reuters. October 1, 2007, accessed September 22, 2010 .
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  50. ^ Heavy army presence in Burma city. In: BBC News. October 1, 2007, accessed September 22, 2010 .
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  52. ↑ a b Foreign Minister insults monks as “rabbits”. In: Welt Online . October 2, 2007, accessed September 23, 2010 .
  53. ↑ Burma: UN Human Rights Council calls for an end to violence. In: Zeit Online. October 2, 2007, accessed September 23, 2010 .
  54. ↑ Than Shwe's family in Laos. In: Mizzima News. September 27, 2010, archived from the original on November 2, 2007 ; Retrieved October 8, 2010 .
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  72. ↑ Wellwishers and families of Tatmadaw (Army, Navy and Air) present provisions to 15 monasteries and one nunnery in Insein Township . In: The New Light of Myanmar . Volume XV, No.  175 , October 8, 2007, p. 1.8 ( burmalibrary.org [PDF; 7.6 MB ; accessed on December 3, 2010]).
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  74. ^ Government issues Announcement No 2/2007 . In: The New Light of Myanmar . Volume XV, No.  176 , October 9, 2007, p. 1 ( burmalibrary.org [PDF; 6.0 MB ; accessed on December 3, 2010]).
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  81. ^ Nay Htoo: Myanmar Airways International ceases operation. In: Democratic Voice of Burma. October 11, 2007, archived from the original on November 23, 2010 ; Retrieved December 6, 2010 .
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