Burmese protests countrywide call for a “spring revolution”

Calls for a “spring revolution” erupted from thousands of protestors marching across Myanmar today to protest the Burmese military junta. The country has been in turmoil since the Feb 1 coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and installed military rule. Protests have raged for 4 months despite the Burmese military cracking down on demonstrations, often violently and bloodily, with an estimated 760 deaths and 4,500 people detained.

Today activists, many young students, started early, collecting at a downtown street corner in former capital city Rangoon, forming a flash mob that marched quickly up the blocks. The flurry grew quickly but also disseminated just as quickly, hoping to avoid another bloody clash with military forces.

Burmese protesters called for a “spring revolution” and a show of unity, changing phrases like “to get democracy is our course!” and “to bring down the military dictatorship is our course!” They waved the famous Hunger Games three-finger resistance salute.

Around the country, similar protests sprung up. In Mandalay, monks in bright orange robes and carrying the National League for Democracy flag led hundreds of demonstrators. In the Shan state to the north, young marchers carried large signs exclaiming “we cannot be ruled at all.” But junta military forces fired upon the crowds by 10 am, with one person shot in the head and killed. Protestors said that the Burmese military demanded the victim’s body, but friends hid him and planned a funeral.

After the brazen show of unity in protest, the military was reportedly patrolling areas arresting any young people they suspected had participated in demonstrations. Unidentified bomb explosions rocked Rangoon, with the military pinning the blame on protestors and characterizing them as instigators.

Conflicting info coming from the opposing sides have emerged. As the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has been gathering statistics and claim 759 civilians have been killed, the junta disagrees. The AAPP is a local monitoring group, but has been labelled by military leaders as an unlawful organisation and dispute their figures. The military claims that 17 police officers and 7 soldiers have been murdered by Burmese protestors and the number of dead demonstrators is actually 258.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post