News from Burma

I've noticed that aren't seeing Burma in the headlines any more, just a month after the world was shocked by the brutal represssion of the democracy movement there. There have been a few reports of diplomatic meetings, but nothign to suggest that the situation has improved at all for the people of Burma. I went to the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's special page on Burma and found this recent news:

For the first time since late September’s military crackdown in Burma, hundreds of monks marched peacefully through the streets of Pakokku in Upper Burma on October 31, chanting the Metta Sutta and the slogan, “No persecution man by man.”

Where are the monks? The answer is they are still there, still in alignment and sympathy with all those in Burma suffering under a military dictatorship for 45 years.

Also in the news on October 31, Human Rights Watch reports that the Burmese government has been forcibly recruiting children, some as young as 10 years old, into the army to meet a military staffing crisis. These unconscionable violations of human rights are being actively investigated by the United Nations Security Council's working group on children and armed conflict.

"The brutality of Burma's military government goes beyond its violent crackdown on peaceful protestors," said Jo Becker, children's rights advocate for Human Rights Watch. "Military recruiters are literally buying and selling children to fill the ranks of the Burmese armed forces."

Meanwhile, the crackdown on Burma’s democratic movement -- midnight arrests, torture, and disappearance – goes on unabated.

- BPF / Monks March in Burma

BPF also has a number of suggestions about how we can help. We must keep our eyes open and let Burma know the world is still watching.

Our own Richard Deats (former director of FOR and editor emeritus of Fellowship) visited Burma and led clandestine trainings in the practice of nonviolent resistance just days before the nation exploded in August. He recommends The Irrawaddy as a good source of information from the Thai/Burmese border.