The Beginning Of The End In Burma

Our friend Neil over at the blog Texas Liberal pricked our conscience a bit yesterday. He reminds those of us who believe in freedom and justice that we must not forget the brave demonstrators in Burma. He says we must help to keep the protests alive.

I don't know if we can help keep the protests alive or not. But he is right that we must not let the world forget what is going on in Burma. And yes, I said Burma -- not Myanmar. The second is the name given to Burma by its military dictator. I will not use that name until a freely-elected government in Burma says to do so.

I am a bit surprised that there has not been more outrage in this country over the attacks on the Burmese monks by the military dictatorship. We call ourselves a religious country, so where is the outrage when these holy men are attacked? This would be the equivalent of our government attacking, killing and imprisoning thousands of ministers and priests.

It looks to me like the genie has been let out of the bottle in Burma, and their military will play hell trying to get him back in that bottle. The actions of the monks have given the people courage and direction. Once the people are united, things can change. We have seen in other dictatorships (Poland, the Philippines, etc.) that a united populace can do amazing things.

The monks have not only sparked non-violent protests, but their actions have re-invigorated and united the armed revolutionaries in Burma. I don't know whether this revolution that topples the military dictator in Burma will be non-violent as in Poland, or an armed insurrection as in Cuba -- but the government will be toppled.

As Boris Yeltsin once said, "You can build a throne out of bayonets, but you can't sit on it very long." The Burmese dictator has built his throne out of bayonets, but it's starting to hurt his butt something fierce. I doubt he can sit on it much longer.