This is far from conclusive but gives you an idea of the breadth of response
Burmese living inside Burma
- Monks take to the streets to protest the rise in fuel prices
- The military regime reacts violently, beating a number of monks
- The monks set a deadline for an apology from the military, none is forthcoming
- A line of protesting monks goes by Aung San Suu Kyi’s house. She emerges and spends 10 minutes with the monks
- Monks are joined by civilians as the protesting crowds gather momentum
- Protests are reported in other centres throughout the country, including Mandalay and Sittwe
- Tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets around Sule Pagoda and Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon. They are dispersed around Sule Pagoda by military personnel firing into the crowd and beating protestors – 9 are reported killed
- Bloggers and internet savvy civilians feed a constant stream of information and images to the outside world documenting the violent crack down
- A number of pro-democracy activists, including student leaders from 1988 are arrested
- A number of prominent artists, comedians and writers are arrested for supporting the monks
The SPDC
- The SPDC reacts violently to peaceful protesters, firing shots into unarmed crowds and beating protestors
- The SPDC begins raiding monasteries and locking up monks
- The SPDC begin hunting down pro-democracy activists in the dead of the night
- The SPDC reportedly begins forcible removal of civilians in outlying areas to be trucked to major cities to participate in pro-government demonstrations
- Burma’s FM addresses the UNs General Assembly and says his country is subject to acts of neo-colonialism and that the country has now returned to normalcy
- Reports suggest that 13 have been killed and over 1000 arrested in the crackdown
- Military trucks trawl Rangoon blaring out messages warning people to stay inside or risk arrest
The UN
- UN Secretary General releases a statement cautioning the Burmese military to use utmost restraint against the peaceful protestors and to enter constructive dialogue with pro-democracy supporters
UN Special envoy, Gambari is dispatched to Burma - Gamabri meets with Aung San Suu Kyi for 90 minutes
- 2 days later he meets with the militaries top three generals, including Than Shwe
- Gamabri has another meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi following his meeting with Than Shwe
- Gambari leaves the country after a four day mission with as yet no comment on what the mission had achieved
- Gambari will provide a report of his mission to the UN Security Council which will meet later in the week
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Right, Louise Arbour releases a statement saying “The Myanmar [Burmese] authorities should no longer expect that their self-imposed isolation will shield them from accountability”.
- The UN Rights Council condemned the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters and called for an investigation into the situation of the country
The US
- George Bush announces tougher sanctions against the military
- The US State Department condemns the violent crackdown and calls on the military to exercise restraint
- The US State Department calls for Burma’s neighbours to apply greater pressure on the regime, specifically China and India
- The US Senate passes a resolution calling for tripartite dialogue between the military, the NLD and ethnic minority groups
China
- China is silent for the first few days of protest and violent crack-downs.
- It then issues a statement calling on all sides in Burma to exercise restraint.
- China urges citizens to reconsider their travel to Burma
India
- Members of India’s upper parliament express concern that India isn’t doing enough to stop the bloodshed
- India rejects sanctions but calls for an inquiry into the use of force against peaceful protesters
Japan
- Japan embassy reports on the death of a Japanese journalist while documenting the protests
- Japan demands a full explanation of the death of a Japanese photographer
- Japans FM leaves for Burma to protest the killing of a Japanese photographer and call for the Burmese military to take steps towards a democracy
- Japan considers cutting aid to Burma over the death of a Japanese photographer
Other Government responses
- The EU agrees to in principle toughen sanctions against the military regime
- British PM Gordon Brown calls for immediate international action on Burma and for the Burmese military to exercise restraint
- The Australian Government imposes targeted financial sanctions against the military regime and its families
Burmese living overseas
- 1000 march in front of Burmese embassy in New Delhi, India
- 150 monks demonstrate in front of the UN mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Candlelight vigil is held in Melbourne, Australia to support the people of Burma
- Protest held in Sydney, Australia in support of the people of Burma
- Canadian Friends of Burma release a statement calling on the Canadian Government and the international community to respond quickly to the violent crack-downs in Burma
- 2000 hold a demonstration in Kula Lumpur, Malaysia
- A small protest by Thai and Burmese is held under the Thai-Buma friendship bridge near Mae Sot, Thailand
- KNU calls on all ethnic ceasefire groups to rise up against the military regime in solidarity with the people of Rangoon and Mandalay
- 100 demonstrators protest in Cambodia
- 1500 immigrants rally in Malaysia in support of their people back home
Other international organizations
- AHRC release a letter to the Sangha in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia to support the Sangha in Burma and join with them in boycotting the military regime
- ASEAN expresses dire concerns over the Burmese militaries violent crack-down
- The International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) release a statement warning that the current military crackdown could worsen the countrys forced displacement crisis
Other international entities
- The Dalai Lama releases a message of solidarity to the peaceful movement in Burma and calls on the military regime to act in accordance with the sacred dharma
- Desmond Tutu appeals to the Burmese Generals to stop the violence and start negotiating for democracy
Information was collated from the following sources
AHRC
Burma Digest
Democratic Voice of Burma
DAGA
IDMC
Irrawaddy
Sydney Morning Herald
Good summary of events. It’s a terrible thing that is happening over there. The Burma representative told the United Nations General Assembly that things have returned to normal, but apparently normal in Burma is a scary proposition.
I know, we have very different ideas of normal, the Burmese military and me. I often think it would be an interesting exercise to record some of the Burmese military’s most outrageous, flamboyant, stupid and blatantly inaccurate comments. There’s some pearlers let me tell you.
Of course the other thing I meant to say in this post is that scrolling through those responses you realise most of it is lip service - which is all well and good - but i think most people from burma, and those interested in burma need something more than this now. Concrete action from the international community remains largely untested, it would be nice to see that eventuate in support of the people inside.