The other men in orange suits

We all know about those famous pictures of foreign looking men in orange suits suffering under brutal oppressors and we all know that what happens in Guantanamo Bay is wrong. Let us now turn our attention to some other men in orange bodywear, those brave monks in Myanmar (Burma) who have taken to the streets to demand that the poor of their nation have fuel that they can afford.
Burma's political situation is a true scar on the face of our world. We must look back into the last decade to see a sure sign of the desperation of the Burmese people. It was in 1990 that the first democratic elections for 30 years and the last took place. Aung San Suu Kyi the leader of the democracit party took a sweeping majority and was stopped from taking power by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Only two years previous to this over 2000 democracy demonstrators had been massacred by the very same organisation.

Could the massacre of 1988 be about to happen again?

For the last 10 days monks have been joined by civilians protesting against their tyrannical government and the situation is getting worse and worse. At least 11 civilians are dead- their crime? Asking for the people to have a voice. They have been murdered by the very same government who have kept Aung San Suu Kyi locked in her house for the best part of 17 years under the 1975 State Protection Act1. 20 000 people on the streets of Burma is a monumentally brave in a country who refuse to allow free speech and who have tried their very best to stop the world knowing about the terrible human rights violations they commit. The governent lock up political activists and journalists as a matter of course.
And now...
Full combat troops have taken to the streets. They have shot people. State TV is threatening those who join the legitimate protest.2 According to Al-Jazeera 'Rallies were also dispersed with teargas, baton charges and warning shots.' The situation is already dire and threatens to get worse. And what can we do?

• Tell our MPs, our leaders that the situation in Burma is unnaceptable and that UN action is urgently needed.
• Get on the streets. And keep checking the Amnesty website.

The latest from Amnesty:

'International members around the world have begun a series of demonstrations outside Myanmar’s embassies and high profile public locations calling for the Myanmar authorities not to respond with violence and to respect the human right to peaceful protest. A demonstration was held today in London, and further demonstrations have been held in Washington, Switzerland and the Netherlands. This will be followed by events in Nepal, Belgium, the Philippines and Spain. Further events will be announced shortly.'

'When injustice becomes law, resitance becomes duty'

1)http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7016608.stm
2) The Guardian London