Burma aka Myanmar

In 1948 Burma became independent of the UK and was a democratic republic until 1962, when General Ne Win staged a military coup. In 1988 there were widespread pro-democracy demonstrations and hundreds of demonstrators were massacred and General Saw Maung staged a military coup. There were further protests the following year and martial law was declared. The country's name was changed to Myanmar, a name the US doesn't recognize. The military has promised a new constiution and elections, but it has done nothing.

Mass public demonstrations reappeared in August 2007 when the government raised gas and oil prices by 500% to cover a budget deficit, which resulted from a raise in pay for civil servants. When the monks joined the demonstrations in September, the population was energized and the number of demonstrators swelled enough to draw international attention.

The situation in Burma is upsetting for so many reasons and on so many levels. First of all, the world's efforts on behalf of the people and monks in Myanmar, who are being so brutally killed, beaten, and arrested, have been paltry at best and nothing has been accomplished.

Burma is a Buddhist country and the monks there are held in very high esteem. Buddhists of course are totally non-violent; they won't even kill insects. So, the violence that the military has perpetrated upon these people is even more shocking.

These monks are practicing what is called "engaged Buddhism", first promulgated by Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam during the Viet Nam War or as they call it, the "War with the United States". Instead of staying safe and removed in their monasteries practicing meditation, they believe they must work for peace. Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. Read his "Peace is Every Step" for a simple yet profound glimpse into the the beauty and inspiration of this way of life.

And then there's the fact that even with the internet, the government of Burma has been able to totally shut down any communications with the outside world, so we really have no idea of the scope of the horrors taking place there. Especially for those of us who imagine the internet to be the last bastion and hope of freedom of the press, the ease with which a country can shut it down is sobering, to say the least.

Avaaz.org has launched an international petition demanding the Burmese generals negotiate rather than continue to crush the demonstrators. The petition has taken off, already, people from 200 countries have signed, and thousands more are adding their names every hour. People around the world are mobilizing protests aimed at China and the other countries with the economic power to sway the ruling military junta. It's an unprecedented global response. Please join.