Economic desperation was the trigger for the peaceful uprising that would come to be known as, “the Saffron Revolution,” after the color of monks’ robes. In a setting where market prices had already tripled or quadrupled within the past year, in August 2007, the Burmese junta suddenly decided to lift fuel subsidies. Fuel prices jumped as much as 500% overnight, with food and other commodities prices following suit. Pro-democracy activists and ordinary citizens began protesting on August 19th.

With each passing day, more and more Burmese citizens summoned the courage to join the protests, which were increasingly led by members of the sangha, the Buddhist clergy. On September 5th, troops broke up a demonstration in Pakokku, injuring dozens of monks. Members of the sangha demanded an apology from the military government, with a deadline of September 17th. Meanwhile, public protests continued, building day by day.

On September 22nd, thousands of monks marched in cities across Burma. Ten thousand monks took to the streets in Mandalay alone. In Rangoon, monks chanting the Metta Sutta, a prayer of loving kindness, marched to the home of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to honor the democracy leader. Daw Suu Kyi appeared before the monks and shed tears of gratitude.

Led by monks, the demonstrations multiplied and swelled in size over the next days. On September 24th, crowds filled the streets of more than 25 cities across Burma, with 100,000 peaceful marchers in Rangoon alone. The next day, machine-gun toting soldiers gathered ominously at intersections. On the 26th of September, the landmark Shwedagon Pagoda was barricaded by troops, and a curfew was imposed by the military dictators. During the night, soldiers raided dozens of monasteries across Burma, beating and killing monks according to eyewitness accounts.

On the morning of September 27th, 50,000 courageous citizens gathered on the streets of Rangoon to demand freedom from fear. Soldiers opened fire on the crowds, killing at least nine unarmed protesters. One of these was Kenji Nagai, a Japanese journalist, whose murder was caught on video and beamed around the world.

With each passing hour, more monks disappeared into detention centers as more soldiers filled the streets. The Burmese junta shut down internet and cell phone service to stifle the flow of information to the outside world. Even so, accounts emerged of a crematorium burning day and night to destroy evidence of military brutality. A Burmese colonel defected after refusing an order to slaughter hundreds of monks.

On October 11th, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning the brutal actions of the Burmese regime, and the US among other countries announced tighter sanctions. With soldiers on the streets of every city and emptied monasteries, large-scale demonstrations ceased. Reports suggest that low-level resistance continued, including small demonstrations and imprisoned monks refusing food from their oppressors. Many report that while the streets of Burma are quiet, the sense of dissatisfaction, anger, and the burning desire for change are stronger than ever.

Altsean-Burma has a lot of materials on their site- photo gallery, map of the protests, reports, etc. - Check it Out

VIDEOS:

Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley went undercover in Myanmar to report exclusively on the people’s protests and resulting bloody crackdown by Myanmar’s military government, talking to the protesters, filming the bloody crackdown and gauging the mood of the nation

Burmese Monks demonstrating peacefully and chanting prayers. But the brutal military regime armed with tear gas and semi-automatic weapons start firing upon the monks and the crowd.