When demonstrations against the Burmese junta’s latest assault on the living standards of its people began on August 19, some so-called experts played down the extent of the protests.

Although around 500 Rangoon residents led by prominent activists of the 88 Generation Students group marched through the city, provoking a violent crackdown by the regime and its hired thugs, two well-known commentators dismissed the turnout and subsequent demonstrations as “small-scale” and doubted whether the country would witness major protests.

As hundreds of monks, supported by as many ordinary people, now stage daily displays of dissatisfaction with the way the country is being run, Messrs David Steinberg and Zarni must be wishing they had not been so quick with their words. Both went on record in august surroundings—Steinberg at Georgetown University in Washington and Zarni at Oxford University’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Apart from being wrong in their assessment of the crisis, Steinberg and Zarni are both missing the point.

This isn’t a numbers game. The size of the demonstrations is less important than the weight of sentiment and public opinion that supports them and the great courage shown by the participants, who knew beforehand of the brutality that awaited them.

The bravery of these men and women and the monks with whom they now link arms wins applause throughout the world, where democratic governments are witnessing a people’s aspirations for freedom and justice.

In Washington, London and other free world capitals, the sacrifice of these courageous Burmese who demonstrate for the rights of their fellow citizens is fully recognized and their noble cause is backed to the full.

Commentators who can’t share this sympathy with a suffering people don’t deserve to be called “experts on Burma.”