One of the most significant and meaningful events of the protests occurred on September 22nd of 2007. A large group of monks marching down the streets of Rangoon were allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time in four years. (Human Rights Watch) Aung San Suu Kyi is the leading face of the pro-democracy movement and a leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma.  She  has been placed under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years by the military regime because she was fighting for political and economical reforms in Burma. Suu Kyi is the daughter General Aung San, who was the commander of the Burma Independence Army, and her mother is Daw Khin Kyi, the senior nurse of Rangoon General Hospital. Her father was assassinated when she was only two, and ever since, she has always followed in his footsteps and “emerged as a central figure in the pro-democracy movement in Burma”. (Famous People) She is one of the most renowned freedom fighters and advocates nonviolence, and is also the 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate. The sight of Suu Kyi gave the Burmese people a new ray of hope to

Aung San Suu Kyi

continue fighting and to never bow down to the Burmese military regime. Her message is a simple one – that only by fighting fear can you truly be free – a message Burma’s military fears and aims to silence. (Burma Campaign) On September 25-26, the military regime began their crackdown on protests and resistance lead by the monks. Overnight, the military junta moved large numbers of military forces into Rangoon and large number of riot police into the city. On the morning of the 26th, the protesters started gathering as usual at the Shwedagon Pagoda, but found a heavy deployment of riot police and soldiers around the pagoda. They were trapped and many of the monks tried to reason with the riot police, but the commander did not allow it. The trapped monks were attacked and some tried to climb over the monastery wall. They were beaten intentionally on their heads and many were seen with bloodstained robes. (Human Rights Watch) A number of monks were beaten unconscious and others were detained and taken away from the area. Despite the brutal crackdown on September 26th, thousands of protesters continued to regroup and challenge the soldiers. The authorities detained hundreds of monks and civilians that day in various monastery raids. Before the crackdown, there were approximately 1,150 political prisoners in Myanmar. After that day, more than 2,100 political prisoners were detained. (Amnesty International)

Following the violent crackdown, the government’s security forces began emptying the monasteries by executing numerous nightly raids on dozen of monasteries, forcing the monks to leave their homes. Whoever did not follow their orders was brutally beaten. The monks were either taken away into detention, or were ordered to de-robe and return to civilian life. Many monks decided to flee into neighboring areas during the raids, which as a result, emptied the streets of Rangoon of clergy. When the population got involved and tried to block the soldiers from leaving with the monks, the protesters were in turn beaten or shot, resulting in many deaths. The Swan Arr Shin militias were given orders to attack and detain the protesters. Constant clashes occurred as the militias sought out groups of protesters to attack and disperse. The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council), through its brutal crackdown and extensive deployment of Swan Arr Shin militias was able to end large-scale protests by September 30th. The people saw their last spark of hope slip away as almost all protests ended before they could begin. The security forces in Burma were increased enormously to ensure that no other large demonstrations would occur. (Human Rights Watch)

Detention centers were set up for the detainees. Hundreds of people were sentenced to long prison terms for taking part in the anti-military junta street protests. They were interrogated numerous times and there was a monk who was beaten to death when “he refused to sign a document admitting his own guilt and absolving the authorities from any wrongdoing prior to his own release.” Others experienced similar fates. (Human Rights Watch) No medical care was provided for the wounded, they only received limited water, and their families were denied the right to visit. (Asia News) The largest detention center during the crackdown was at the Government Technical Institute (GTI), located near the Insein prison. This center housed up to several thousand protesters and monks. Many of the political prisoners detainees were also sent to Insein prison in Rangoon, where many were beaten if they did not provide the proper answers to the interrogators. Ever since the crackdown, more than 1000 monks were arrested, and 237 monks remain in prison as of August 2009. (Human Rights Watch) Many fled overseas, and others went back to life as laypeople, which are individuals “without professional or specialized knowledge in a particular subject”. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Most monasteries now have less than half as many monks as they had before September 2007.  “The Burmese generals have taken severe measures to ensure that the world does not learn the true story of the horror of their crackdown. They have kept foreign journalists out of Burma and maintained their complete control over domestic news. Many local journalists were arrested after the crackdown, and the Internet and mobile phone networks, used extensively to send information, photos, and videos out of Burma, were temporarily shut down, and have remained tightly controlled for a very long time.” (Human Rights Watch) The Burmese military regime is a very oppressive government that uses violence and repression to continue to hold onto power. The Burma Crisis is a great example of their violation of the fundamental human rights.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been imprisoned for 14 of the last 20 years. In March of 2009, “the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a judgment declaring that the ongoing detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is illegal and in violation of both Burmese and international law.” (Burma Campaign) The Burma authorities ended her detention order on May 26th, but she was arrested earlier in May and tried in a special court inside Insein Prison. She was charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest when John Yettaw, a United States citizen stayed two days in her house, even though the terms forbid her to have visitors. Suu Kyi was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment, which was reduced to 18 months of house arrest. (Amnesty International) The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and many other world leaders have asked for her immediate release as well as the release of all the other political prisoners. Despite all of this, Aung San Suu Kyi still remains under house arrest at the age of 64. She symbolizes the struggle of Burma’s people to be free.