About 200 people gathered in Chiang Mai
on Tuesday evening for a candle-lit peace walk and rally to mark the 4th
anniversary of Burma’s ‘Saffron Revolution’.
Participants from most ethnic states in Burma as
well as many international demonstrators walked quietly through the
city holding signs and placards calling for people to remember the
Burmese uprising, for the release of all political prisoners, and for an
end to the “public relations games” of Burma’s current government.
The peace walk and Buddhist prayer service was
led by three Buddhist monks including Ashin Issariya, who was a key
organizer in the 2007 uprising. At the rally, statements were read by
the event organizers in Burmese, Thai, Shan and English, followed by
speeches from monks and veteran activists, including Khin Ohmar and Aung
Myo Min.
The event was held in remembrance of the
hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, led by thousands of Buddhist
monks, who marched down streets in cities and towns across the country
in an attempt to depose the military junta.
Garrett Kostin, one of the event organizers, read a statement saying: “Four years after the Saffron Revolution took place, 222 monks, and nearly 2,000 political prisoners remain behind bars. Those responsible for the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in 2007 are still in power, thanks to the broadly denounced sham elections of 2010… Before we accept that true, positive change is underway in Burma, the international community needs to require that the regime do more than ineffectual public relations maneuvers. The regime in Burma needs to show a true determination for a democratic transition by immediately and unconditionally releasing all political prisoners, ending impunity for human rights abusers, and entering into tripartite dialogue with Burma’s ethnic groups and the pro-democracy opposition.” Many of the peace walkers called for another public uprising in Burma.
Seng Htio of the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand told Mizzima,
“Nothing has changed in Burma since the 2010 elections, actually it is
getting worse. How can they say it is a democracy when there are still
2,000 political prisoners? Look at Kachin State, there has been much
more fighting this year and many Kachin people are being displaced and
cross the border to China.”
Ashin Issariya (also known as King Zero), who led the peace walk and gave a speech at the rally, told Mizzima,
“Yes, I would like to see another peaceful uprising of the people in
Burma. We must not forget the ‘Saffron Revolution.’ Until political
prisoners who are in jail are released and the human rights abuses
committed by the regime are stopped, the people will not be satisfied.”
The civil unrest in 2007 was sparked by the
junta’s decision to remove fuel subsidies without warning, causing fuel
prices to soar overnight. The protests peaked on September 24 when up to
100,000 people marched in Rangoon, the largest anti-government protest
since the pro-democracy protests in August 1988.
The revolution brought oppression of human
rights and lack of fundamental freedoms in Burma to the forefront of the
world stage. During the brutal military crackdown on the protests,
Burma’s armed forces shot into the crowds, killing monks and civilians
while they staged their non-violent protests. Many monks and civilians
were also badly beaten, arrested and imprisoned. At the time, state
media reported nine deaths as a result of the escalating violence, but
eyewitness accounts and observers put the number of deaths in the
hundreds.
Protestors also gathered inside Burma on Monday
when approximately 200 people gathered in Rangoon and tried to march
from Dagon Myothit (East) to Sule Pagoda to mark the 4th anniversary.
by Thea Forbes, Mizzima
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