Burmese Monks, Nuns Stage Biggest Demonstration in 20 Years
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
More than 20,000 people led by Buddhist monks have staged the biggest demonstration against Burma’s military regime in almost 20 years.
For the first time since the protests began last month, Buddhist nuns have joined the monks in a growing uprising that is receiving messages of support from Washington and a coterie of Hollywood actors. Emboldened after a march on Saturday to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s democracy icon who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years, as many as 10,000 monks walked through the streets yesterday, chanting: “We want the people to join us.”
About 10,000 civilians responded to their call, marching from Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma’s most important landmark, through the capital and to the famous Sule Pagoda. A small group of protesters attempted to again march on Aung San Suu Kyi’s home, but riot police blocked the way, and the monks eventually left the area.
Clapping supporters lined the roads, handing out water and flowers and offering balm for the monks’ exposed feet, as protest leaders addressed the crowds. “We want national reconciliation, we want dialogue with the military, we want freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners,” one cried into a microphone. Secretary of State Rice expressed sympathy for the protesters. “The Burmese people deserve better,” she said. “The brutality of this regime is well-known.”
Meanwhile, Hollywood actor Jim Carrey released a video on the Internet site YouTube calling for the United Nations to intervene. It follows a petition signed two weeks ago by actors including Dustin Hoffman, Jennifer Aniston, Susan Sarandon, and Anjelica Huston calling on people to e-mail Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations and demand that he “coordinate a strong response.”
What began as a protest against economic hardship last month, has grown so big that analysts say the Burmese military, which normally does not tolerate public dissent, now faces a quandary.
“If they crack down seriously on the monks, it would also seriously inflame the rest of the population, including members of the military themselves, for attacking the sacred and very prestigious institution,” said Debbie Stothard, of the Thailand-based democracy pressure group Altsean Burma.
