Burma News & Action Round-up

As you have probably heard, there's some horrible things happening in Burma as of late. A concise description from the Guardian:

The protests began late last month after the government sharply raised fuel prices - an added hardship for people in one of Asia's poorest and most economically isolated countries.

Arrests and intimidation kept the demonstrations small and scattered until the monks entered the fray. On Sunday, around 20,000 people - including thousands of monks - filled the streets of Rangoon, stepping up their defiance by chanting support for the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ms Suu Kyi has been under almost continuous house arrest since 1990, when the military refused to recognise a landslide victory by her National League for Democracy party.

Within the past week, however, the situation has turned ugly. As of now, the government has cut off internet access, hundreds of monks have been beaten, arrested, and detained, and more deaths are being reported.

Other news and information:

• Buddhist Channel.
• Burmese blogger Ko Htike (warning - some graphic images).
• The Burma Project (good for general information).
• Killing the Buddha discusses the religious aspect of the protests.

Ways show support for the Burmese people:

• The Tricycle Blog published an action plan from the US Campaign for Burma. Visit the sites to see how to do what they are requesting, which includes petitions, donations, and spreading the word.
• Avaaz.org Petition
• MoveOn.org Petition
• The Burma Campaign UK has a list of companies who do business with Burma to contact and boycott.
• Ethical Traveler has one of the most interesting displays of solidarity, allowing supporters to upload a picture of themselves and a message to the Burmese people.

If you're into that sort of thing, you can also watch the latest PSA about Burma from Jim Carrey: