That's a Japanese news photographer lying face-up on the ground, holding his camera; a member of the Myanmar military stands over him with pointed gun. At least ten people (probably many more) were killed, including the cameraman in the photograph and several Buddhist monks, as troops fired into the crowd and clubbed protestors in the latest crackdown in Rangoon.
Newspapers and television stations have been shut down, internet access is cut off, hundreds of Buddhist monks and their supporters have been arrested and taken away.
The current round of protests has been going on since mid-August, but the struggle for a free and democratic Myanmar has been going on for decades.
China, Myanmar's largest trading partner - and its military government's leading arms supplier - could apply economic pressure to speed reform. Supporting democracy in Myanmar would gain China some international credit heading into the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But we won't hold our breath waiting for China to do the right thing.
I've been following the freedom struggle of the people of Myanmar since first learning about Aung San Suu Kyi in the late 1980s. Freedom fighter, resistance leader, symbol of hope and courage, Daw Suu Kyi still lives under house arrest, "detained" by the military government that fears her.
When Suu Kyi's husband, Michael Aris was diagnosed with cancer, international appeals to Myanmar - including those from the US, the UN, and the pope - to grant Aris a visa were rebuffed. Instead, Myanmar urged Suu Kyi to leave the country. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was temporarily free at that time, knew if she left, she would be unable to return.
Aris and Suu Kyi chose the movement over their last opportunity to be together in this lifetime. Aris died in 1999. During the final ten years of his life, he and Suu Kyi saw each other five times.
When Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, their son, Alexander Aris, delivered the acceptance speech.
We saw Nelson Mandela's imprisonment come to an end, and saw him recognized as the elected leader of his newly democratic country. I wonder if the people of Myanmar will see Suu Kyi do the same, if she will see freedom in her lifetime. In the US, the Myanmar movement lacks the high profile the anti-apartheid movement attracted, or even the celebrity status the movement for a Free Tibet sometimes holds. That international pressure can make a huge difference.
On the other hand, although support is important, freedom doesn't come from college campuses half a world away. Freedom comes from the people's own struggle. The people of Myanmar will not give up, so they will prevail.
For inspiration on courage and hope, I recommend reading Aung San Suu Kyi's Freedom From Fear (and other writings). For a Hollywood-version introduction to the Myanmar struggle, see "Beyond Rangoon".
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