Today we also took a goat track up the steepest mountains imaginable through the jungle all the way, and made it to the myanmar border. we went through road block after road block, and the army men had bigger guns and bigger smiles the closer we got. ... by the time we were at the top, the sergeant sold us a chang beer, taught us 'good luck' in thai (chock dee na ka/krup) and after a companionable exchange, sent us back the way we came.
Here's the photo we were allowed to take, facing away from the border.On 19 August, only 3 weeks later, Burmese monks and other citizens started their peaceful protests to challenge oppressive military rule, and, a month later, the government started their violent retaliation.
Once again, economics wins over human rights as the international community sits back watches on.
http://www.witness.org/ is reporting the number of people displaced by this latest bout of violence as 30,000 - adding to the hundreds of thousands already displaced. There is a link on this site to register support for the Burmese people with the UN Secretary General.
The Australian government needs to account for itself too - how dare it wage war on Iraq in the name of the protection of people and at the same time remain silent on this issue?
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