Myanmar update

There's going to be a lot of coverage of the Olympics in the next few weeks. They kick off this Friday, August 8.

We're a bit spoiled in the United States, as we have so many athletes participating in so many events and EXPECTED to win so many medals. But for most countries, that's not the case, which makes the experience a little sweeter and maybe a bit more pure for their nations and their athletes.

Since my adopted country is Myanmar, I thought I'd let you know that, according to Xinhuanet.com...

"Myanmar will send a 20-member sports delegation including six athletes -- four men and two women -- to compete in track and field, swimming, archery, rowing and canoeing/kayat [sic] in the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China from Aug. 8 to 24."

More coverage from the Telegraph, in London.

According to a press release from the official Olympic website, two women athletes participated in the last games, in Greece. One was in archery, the other in weightlifting. When I get some time, I'll try to find out how they did.

My adopted country

Folks in Myanmar are still trying to put the pieces back together after the cyclone.

Please note that early and shocking estimates that up to 10,000 could be dead were too conservative. The story linked above says the number of dead is 84,537 and another 53,836 are "missing and presumed dead."

I've taken a slight interest in Myanmar. This is my fourth post about the country. I may set up a google news alert on Myanmar to send me more regular updates. It's not a bad idea to follow the fortunes of a foreign nation.

Bad times in Myanmar

The death toll for a cyclone in Myanmar is now being put at more than 10,000. During the 10-hour storm, more than 20 inches of rain fell and winds topped 150 mph. It sounds like a real horror story there.

You'll recall that Myanmar is the place where Monks were protesting last year and given a rough time of it by the military government. It's been the subject of a couple of posts on this site here and here.

Remember the monks?

Looking back through the archives, I came across a post I made here about the protests by Monks in Mynamar (formerlly Burma) that was making headlines. I have been guilty of not paying attention and losing track of what happened. So I did a quick search and the first article I found summed up the current situation pretty well. Appreciate, dear readers, that I am risking the wrath of the Bush administration and the Patriot Act by citing this article by Al Jazeera.

The protests quickly spread to across the country and to Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, before the military turned its guns on the demonstrators.

Now those who took part in last year’s anti-government protests are scattered and on the run. But despite the crackdown, the dissident monks are preparing for another showdown.

He says the monks hopes had been buoyed by the international attention last year's protests received and he is ready to spread the word again once the protests resume.
"I had a small generator in my village and I sold it to buy a second-hand camera," he told Al Jazeera. "If the chance comes again, I can record what happens."

Other dissident leaders believe that the monks' actions last year have already weakened the government.

As a result a loose alliance has developed between different groups opposed to the military regime - among them, members of the student-led uprising in 1988 when Myanmar was known by its former name, Burma.

Shooting Monks

I've been following a little bit about the events in Myanmar and protests by Monks for democracy. There is a repressive military government there and this isn't the first time they've been faced with Monks protesting for greater freedoms. The last time, 1988, the end result was a whole bunch of Monks getting shot and killed.

The same could be about to happen now. But the Monks and sympathetic citizens who are starting to join them, have technology on their side. The internet and satelite technology have allowed them to get messages, video and video footage out to the rest of the world.

A Japanese photographer was shot and killed last week. A picture of him down in the street may end up being the as well known as the Vietnam photo of the gun to the head execution or the student being run down by a tank in Tienenman Square.

Of course, neither of those situations ended well. But the Monks have hope, as Monks are wont to. But people are now being shot and the government is shutting down internet access in the country. Russia and China are saying it is an internal affair and the UN shouldn't get involved.

Take a look. Read one article.

http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.cnn.com/