New Campaign against Junta Underway
By Saw Yan Naing December 27, 2007
The latest video footage of the September crackdown on monk-led demonstrations is being disseminated secretly around Rangoon by pro-democracy activists, who are also conducting phone call campaigns and distributing anti-junta leaflets, say sources in the former capital.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, one source said: “The activists started copying VCDs of the September crackdown and distributing them yesterday. They are going around houses in Rangoon’s townships and distributing the VCDs and leaflets for free.”
The source went on to name the following locations as being targeted by activists in the campaign: Kyauktada, Papedan, Hledan, Hlaing Thayar, Latha and Kamaryut.
On Thursday the campaign spread to Mandalay, Monywa in Sagaing Division, Pakokku in Magwe Division and several townships, including Bokalay, in Irrawaddy Division, said the sources.
Authorities have been trying to find the dissidents responsible for the campaign, but no one has yet been arrested.
The source added: “In the leaflets, the activists are urging people to participate in the movement in any way that they can. They urged people to stopping going to their offices and workplaces for one week.” He said that the campaigners also urged people not to go outside on Independence Day, January 4, to mark a silent boycott against the regime.
Several female activists made telephone calls to celebrities demanding them not to forget the September protests and to support the campaign. When asked, some celebrities said that they were with the campaigners “spiritually” and supported their efforts. However, others did not want to become involved.
A well-known hip-hop singer in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that he hadn’t been contacted by the dissidents, but he warmly welcomed the campaign and said he would support it if contacted.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks released a statement on Wednesday saying that they intended to reinvigorate their movement. The group also called for peace, national reconciliation and the release of all political prisoners.
The group also said that the arrest of Buddhist monks is ongoing throughout Burma and that, as a result, many monks have gone into hiding. The monks are still conducting patta ni kozana kan, meaning a refusal to accept alms from members of the armed forces and their families.
On Monday, a group of seven activists was arrested by authorities in Prome, central Burma, said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Association Assistance for Political Prisoners (Burma) in Thailand.
Despite the ongoing arrest of pro-democracy activists, the campaign against the military government could not be stopped, added Bo Kyi.
Recently, a group of activists in Rangoon called the “2007 Generation” announced that it would restart protests against the military government for a week starting on Wednesday to mark the third month since the demonstrations began.
Ye Htun Kyaw, an 88 Generation Students group member who fled from Burma to Thailand following the September crackdown, said “the game”—the uprising against the regime—was not finished yet.
He said: “As long as the needs of the people are not satisfied, it is certain that the opposition to the junta will continue next year.”
The latest video footage of the September crackdown on monk-led demonstrations is being disseminated secretly around Rangoon by pro-democracy activists, who are also conducting phone call campaigns and distributing anti-junta leaflets, say sources in the former capital.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, one source said: “The activists started copying VCDs of the September crackdown and distributing them yesterday. They are going around houses in Rangoon’s townships and distributing the VCDs and leaflets for free.”
The source went on to name the following locations as being targeted by activists in the campaign: Kyauktada, Papedan, Hledan, Hlaing Thayar, Latha and Kamaryut.
On Thursday the campaign spread to Mandalay, Monywa in Sagaing Division, Pakokku in Magwe Division and several townships, including Bokalay, in Irrawaddy Division, said the sources.
Authorities have been trying to find the dissidents responsible for the campaign, but no one has yet been arrested.
The source added: “In the leaflets, the activists are urging people to participate in the movement in any way that they can. They urged people to stopping going to their offices and workplaces for one week.” He said that the campaigners also urged people not to go outside on Independence Day, January 4, to mark a silent boycott against the regime.
Several female activists made telephone calls to celebrities demanding them not to forget the September protests and to support the campaign. When asked, some celebrities said that they were with the campaigners “spiritually” and supported their efforts. However, others did not want to become involved.
A well-known hip-hop singer in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that he hadn’t been contacted by the dissidents, but he warmly welcomed the campaign and said he would support it if contacted.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks released a statement on Wednesday saying that they intended to reinvigorate their movement. The group also called for peace, national reconciliation and the release of all political prisoners.
The group also said that the arrest of Buddhist monks is ongoing throughout Burma and that, as a result, many monks have gone into hiding. The monks are still conducting patta ni kozana kan, meaning a refusal to accept alms from members of the armed forces and their families.
On Monday, a group of seven activists was arrested by authorities in Prome, central Burma, said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Association Assistance for Political Prisoners (Burma) in Thailand.
Despite the ongoing arrest of pro-democracy activists, the campaign against the military government could not be stopped, added Bo Kyi.
Recently, a group of activists in Rangoon called the “2007 Generation” announced that it would restart protests against the military government for a week starting on Wednesday to mark the third month since the demonstrations began.
Ye Htun Kyaw, an 88 Generation Students group member who fled from Burma to Thailand following the September crackdown, said “the game”—the uprising against the regime—was not finished yet.
He said: “As long as the needs of the people are not satisfied, it is certain that the opposition to the junta will continue next year.”
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