open mic night was a disasterMyanmar's courts continued a crackdown on activists, handing out a 45-year prison sentence to a comedian who went to the delta to help cyclone victims and criticized the junta's slow relief response. Wow, talk about dying up there.
Comedian / activist (that's a lethal combo in Myanmar) Zarganar, aka Maung Thura, was among at least 100 people to receive sentences of two to 65 years since early November. Many of the trials were held in closed sessions, sometimes without defense lawyers or family present, because it's Myanmar! The military government's wave of harsh sentences has been condemned worldwide by Western governments and human rights groups who contend that the sentences make a mockery of the ruling junta's professed plan to restore democracy with a 2010 election.
The government holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007 — before last year's pro-democracy demonstrations, according to international human rights groups. Monks inspired and led protests that the army violently suppressed in September 2007. The authorities began their crackdown by raiding several monasteries in Yangon in the middle of the night and hauling away monks. Then they moved onto the comedy clubs and improv groups.
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, brooks no dissent. It frequently arrests artists and entertainers regarded as opposing their regime, even those making seemingly innocuous wisecracks. This government literally has no sense of humor. Zarganar, whose name means "tweezers" (why? ), and several other activists delivered donations of relief supplies to the Cyclone Nargis-shattered Irrawaddy delta. The May cyclone killed more than 84,000 people. Not content with his goods deed, Zarganar was arrested in June after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets in which he criticized the junta's slow response.
Zarganar was sentenced for violating the Electronics Act, which regulates all forms of electronic communication...and he still faces other charges. The comedian had been imprisoned several times before, including a three-week stint for providing aid to Buddhist monks during last year's demonstrations, which is also not very funny. Three "associates" were tried with him. Sportswriter Zaw Thet Htwe and video journalist Thant Zin Aung were given 15 years each and face further charges, while Tin Maung Aye got 29 years.
How hardcore is the junta? Hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw of the band "Acid" was jailed for six years, but 14 members of an activist party got 2 1/2 years each for calling for her release on her birthday. Damn!
Comedian / activist (that's a lethal combo in Myanmar) Zarganar, aka Maung Thura, was among at least 100 people to receive sentences of two to 65 years since early November. Many of the trials were held in closed sessions, sometimes without defense lawyers or family present, because it's Myanmar! The military government's wave of harsh sentences has been condemned worldwide by Western governments and human rights groups who contend that the sentences make a mockery of the ruling junta's professed plan to restore democracy with a 2010 election.
The government holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007 — before last year's pro-democracy demonstrations, according to international human rights groups. Monks inspired and led protests that the army violently suppressed in September 2007. The authorities began their crackdown by raiding several monasteries in Yangon in the middle of the night and hauling away monks. Then they moved onto the comedy clubs and improv groups.
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, brooks no dissent. It frequently arrests artists and entertainers regarded as opposing their regime, even those making seemingly innocuous wisecracks. This government literally has no sense of humor. Zarganar, whose name means "tweezers" (why? ), and several other activists delivered donations of relief supplies to the Cyclone Nargis-shattered Irrawaddy delta. The May cyclone killed more than 84,000 people. Not content with his goods deed, Zarganar was arrested in June after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets in which he criticized the junta's slow response.
Zarganar was sentenced for violating the Electronics Act, which regulates all forms of electronic communication...and he still faces other charges. The comedian had been imprisoned several times before, including a three-week stint for providing aid to Buddhist monks during last year's demonstrations, which is also not very funny. Three "associates" were tried with him. Sportswriter Zaw Thet Htwe and video journalist Thant Zin Aung were given 15 years each and face further charges, while Tin Maung Aye got 29 years.
How hardcore is the junta? Hip-hop singer Zeyar Thaw of the band "Acid" was jailed for six years, but 14 members of an activist party got 2 1/2 years each for calling for her release on her birthday. Damn!
No comments:
Post a Comment