This question has been on my mind lately: What about Burma?
Last fall, much of the world and international media was captivated by the courageous monks in Burma who started marching for peace, freedom and a change in government. People seemed stunned at the violence and oppression the Burmese people were enduring. Soon the monks were being called the "Saffron Revolution," and I noticed that friends of mine who weren't normally interested in international relations were all of a suddent asking about Burma.
What has happened to all of that? The news stories about Burma aren't nearly as frequent, I don't know of any other rallies in support of the marching monks, and people have stopped talking about the "Saffron Revolution."
Why?
As far as I can tell, there has been no significant change in course from the Burmese government, and the oppression, unlawful arrests, and violence don't seem to have been drastically reduced. The communication coming from within the country is still sparse at best, and the Military Junta is still in charge. After doing some searching on the web, I found a recent article about the situation in Burma from BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7242346.stm
From what I can gather, the Military Junta is keeping as strong a grip on Burma as ever, but they maybe have switched their tactics slightly, so that they have the appearance of working towards fairness in governement. In reality, the Junta is working against the UN and other international bodies, keeping the country on lockdown, ignoring the plans of the "roadmap," and still keeping democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Yet, the attention towards Burma has stilled waned.
I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on why the public attention on Burma has not been sustained, and what can be done to keep up attention on pressing human rights issues, even when it doesn't feel like progress is being made, or a solution is imminent. These situations, like Burma, are usually the times when the most international pressure is needed, yet sometimes they don't get it.
Any suggestions about what tactics can be used to sustain attention on situations like this? Don't we have a responsibility to do more?
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latest developments in Burma
I was wondering about this too - the other day my daughter asked me why a man in an "orange" dress was walking in the mall and it made me realize that we have lost focus on the the saffron revolution. The media has moved on to elections in Pakistan and post election violence in Kenya. The silence is also testament to the ability of the Burmese regime to shut down avenues of dissent.
But today there were some articles on Myanmar: the junta is planning a referendum in May on a new constitution and elections in 2010. These moves have been condemned by the opposition as window dressing and once again it has been made clear that their will be no participation permitted from the opposition forces. But it DOES give a focus again to human rights issues in Myanmar - 2010 is a good target for human rights advocates and democracy groups to mobilize around.