An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere - Samuel Johnson
“You have 10 minutes to go home or be shot” that’s what protestors in Yangon were reportedly told by Myanmar troops. It was the 200 soldiers reaction to 1,000 chanting protesters that hurled stones and water bottles at them.
I’m not sure if there can ever be something as simple as a peaceful protest, someone from either side will always want to go that step to far. When that happens the results are the likes of which we have seen on our TV screens over the past few days. 5 Burmese Monks have already died and there is a chance that many others will follow as people revolt, having had to put up with over 45 years of extreme conditions and the price of basic food once again on the rise.
In this regard whoever is to blame for the escalation in violence is not what should be in question. This situation is starting to look more and more like the beginnings of a war and one would think it would not be a drawn out battle if the Myanmar troops decided to fully deploy, but sometimes resilience can produce unexpected results.
It also seems to be a powder keg that no one else wants to really be involved in and in some ways you can understand it. It does kind of surprise me that now the more powerful countries are choosing this instance to not stick their nose somewhere they do not belong.
At times you have to fight. No way around it. At some point, every one of us is confronted with danger or injustice. How we choose to combat that challenge is often life-defining. You can face difficulties head-on, or run from them, or ignore them until they consume you. But no one escapes conflict. No one.
Bill O’Reilly
Perceived threats to power will often result in desperate measures being taken. Sometimes muscles will be flexed a little too much and for a point to be proven unnecessary action will be taken just to show who is in charge.
However those in power can forget who exactly it is that they have power over. For a normally passive and peaceful living culture that are Burmese monks one would’ve thought it would take something big in order to have force them to protest.
Maybe the government doesn’t seem to realise that, aren’t the people protesting just looking for a reasonably fair deal? I really do hope that something can be sorted out for both sides before there has to be any more bloodshed.
With stubbornness on one side and poverty on the other, it does not look like it will change quickly.
Thursday, September 27th, 2007 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.
You can leave a comment.
