Hope Wanes Among Protesters in Myanmar

[Akoto]

Source: Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Watching soldiers firing their guns and beating die-hard protesters with clubs in the streets of Myanmar, a distraught man decried the bloodbath and pleaded for American intervention.

With the streets eerily quiet Saturday after the military's brutal crackdown on three days of demonstrations, many protesters were losing hope and falling back on such familiar pleas for help from the outside world.

It's a call made every time the pro-democracy movement has dared stand up against Myanmar's 45 years of harsh military rule, only to be crushed.

-- snip --

Monks and civilians called diplomats to report that troops had shown up at three different monasteries late Saturday, but were prevented from entering by people in the neighborhood who massed outside them. The soldiers departed, but with threats of returning in larger numbers.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iy-MfhLN9Q7MwtQ1VlrvexLjr2dAD8RVAU9O0

[f the letter]

1. This whole thing is awful

i wish that people in the U S would stand up to a corrupt regime like these people are, especially with the far greater risk they are taking by doing so. We who post here angrily from our bedrooms should take a cue from these pacifist protesters, as well as the lawyers protesting in Pakistan.

i need to start going to more protests again myself here.

[msongs]

2. the DECIDER has seen there is no oil in Myanmar end of story nt

[pampango]

4. Actually there is, but that doesn't seem to help. n/t

[bvar22]

6. Even if there is oil,

why would the US Intervene?
The Monks and the civilians don't control the oil.
The Right Wing Military Dictatorship controls the Oil, and thats what the US Foreign (Corporate) Policy prefers. Its easier for our Corporations to "Do Business" with a corrupt dictatorship.

The only way the US Intervenes is if the Monks and civilians start to WIN.
Then our State Dept and CorpoMedia will make the Monks out to be something worse than Stalin.
(SEE: Chavez/Venezuela/Bolivarian Reforms)

[pampango]

7. My only point was that Msongs thought we wouldn't intervene, because Burma had no oil.

Your point seems to be that we won't intervene (at least not on the side of the monks and civilians) because Burma DOES have oil.

As far as I know, all of Burma's oil is exported to China, and probably always will, since China is their next door neighbor. Their oil does their people no good, just makes for some very rich generals, and does us no good only China. If we intervened (I'm not sure what our "intervention" would look like in a country right next to China) on the side of the monks and civilians, Burma's oil wealth might actually benefit their people, but the oil itself would probably still go to China. If any intervention stopped the flow of Burmese oil to China, the latter might have a little something to say about that.

[Kagemusha]

5. Ah? There is oil in Myanmar, though other countries have it locked up.

It may be small compared to Iraq's potential production but, it is factually untrue there's no oil there.

[Gregorian]

3. Sorry guys, our fascist is busy pilfering.

Life is meaningless to our worthless and pathetic administration.

You have my deepest apologies.