Mobs Confront Democracy Activists in Rangoon
By Htet Aung
May 28, 2007—Frightening sounds and the appearance of threatening crowds alarmed pilgrims and other visitors to Burma’s most famous religious site on Sunday.
A shaken eyewitness told The Irrawaddy: “I was frightened to hear the police hit with iron rods the metal doors on the stairway of the eastern gate at Shwedagon pagoda.
“More frightening still was the appearance of large mobs in the narrow lanes on both sides of the stairway. All of them were drunk, rough and red-faced.”
The bystander had witnessed the latest confrontation between pro-democracy activists and thugs believed to be members of the regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association and Swan Arr Shin, a government-organized paramilitary group.
Observers saw similarities between the military regime’s well-organized provocation and the Depayin attack on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters. Again, those under verbal attack were Suu Kyi supporters, who had planned to pray at the Shwedagon pagoda for her release from house arrest.
“Whatever threats or arrests posed by the authorities, we will face them unshaken and undaunted, won’t we?” pro-democracy activist Min Ko Naing declared in a speech to a crowd of nearly 1,000 in front of the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for Democracy.
“We vow here to make continuous efforts for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners,” he said.
Min Ko Naing was speaking at the start of a new “Free Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners” campaign. The crowd of NLD members and Suu Kyi supporters released 1,000 balloons into the sky as a sign of solidarity. They vowed vocally to work for freedom for Suu Kyi and all imprisoned pro-democracy activists.
Tension rose in Rangoon over the weekend following the extension of Suu Kyi’s detention for a fifth successive year. The eyewitness said she saw 30 non-military pickups blocking roads to the Shwedagon pagoda compound.
She said the road was blocked by an aggressive mob, who threatened any activist who neared. The mob blocked one end of Yae Tar Shae road, near the NLD headquarters, while activists led by Min Ko Naing and other members of the 88 Generation Students group marched hand-in-hand to the pagoda.
“We found out that hundred of soldiers led by a major were deployed behind the mob,” said Myint Thein, an NLD spokesman.
A member of the 88 Generation Students group said information had been received that members of the USDA and Swar Arr Shin were planning to launch a campaign of harassment and threats against families of pro-democracy activists.
Eleven pro-democracy activists were arrested on Sunday and eight were freed on Monday. About 50 activists have been arrested so far this month, in a “Free Aung San Suu Kyi” campaign that began on May 1.
The 88 Generation Students group issued a statement on Sunday stressing that their call “for a political solution based on the 1990 election result does not mean demanding power, but [is] intended to achieve national reconciliation and democratization.” The election, on May 27, 1990, was won overwhelmingly by NLD candidates, but the military regime refused to recognize the result.
The extension of Suu Kyi’s house arrest was condemned throughout the world. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokeswoman said the UN chief "deeply regrets the decision." The US and EU also condemned the Burmese regime for failing to free Suu Kyi, while Japan voiced its regrets. Even Asean, breaking its long standing policy of non-interference in the affairs of its member nations, called for the release of the democracy icon.
China, however, again isolated itself from the international engagement in restoring democracy in Burma, saying Suu Kyi’s detention was an “internal affair” of the country.
