The Saffron Revolution: One year later
Posted on September 29, 2008
Filed Under Burma news, Commentary | Comments Off
This past weekend, the first anniversary of the Saffron Revolution was marked in two very different events on opposite sides of the planet.
In the Burmese town of Sittwe, where monks first began their protests last year, around 150 monks staged a peaceful march through the town reports the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).
Meanwhile, in Washington at UN headquarters, the so called Group of Friends on Myanmar met to review developments. The 14 nations plus the EU called on the Government of Burma to work more closely with the UN on issues of concern, including the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In Sittwe, the monks faced the junta directly, with eye witnesses saying security forces were out in large numbers. T he monks said they were marching and offering prayers to mark last year’s Saffron Revolution.
Unfortunately, at the UN there was far less unity, with the various representatives unable to agree on how to encourage reforms by the nation’s ruling generals reports the Washington Times.
Javier Solana, the European’s foreign policy chief, is reported as saying, “For us, the political process does not appear to exist in Burma.”
However, Burma’s neighbours in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand – as well as China and Russia, wanted to give the junta credit for its release of several political prisoners last week (see:Burma’s longest serving political prisoner released). But the UN, the US, the EU, Britain, Norway, South Korea and Australia were among those who felt the gesture did not go far enough.
Back in Burma, the monks protesting on the streets promised the Saffron Revolution was not over. DVB quotes one monk as saying the junta would not be able to break their unity through intimidation.
Unfortunately, until the UN and the international community can become as united on the issue of Burma, the prospects for real international pressure seem remote.
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