Burmese Government In Exile . . . In Rockville

>As many know, a brutal crackdown continues against peaceful protesters in Burma (also known as Myanmar) who are calling for democracy. According to the Washington Post:

The Burmese government announced that nine people had been killed in the violence, making it the bloodiest day in weeks of escalating protests. In Rangoon, the country’s principal city, soldiers marched down the streets warning over loudspeakers that protesters risked getting shot, according to reports reaching exile groups in Thailand.

The dead included a Japanese journalist, Kenji Nagai, who had been covering the demonstrations, according to his employer, APF News. Another foreigner, reportedly a Caucasian woman, was also seen shot and wounded in the street, according to the exile groups.

Communications from Burma were sporadic, making the scale of the violence difficult to assess. But the heavy presence of soldiers and armed police, and their willingness to open fire, indicated that the country’s military rulers have decided to disregard international appeals to enter into negotiations with political opponents.

The military junta responsible for this bloodbath, ironically known as the “State Peace and Development Council,” took charge after losing an election in 1990 and has been there ever since.

What Rockville Central readers may not know is that winning party in that 1990 election, the National League for Democracy, formed a government in exile called the National Coalition Government of the Union if Burma — located right here in Rockville Town Center.

The NCGUB website is an excellent source of information for people who are following what has come to be called the Saffron Revolution.

The United States called for international action and has imposed economic sanctions on senior Burmese officials. “Every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand up for people suffering under a brutal military regime like the one that has ruled Burma for too long,” said a White House spokesperson.

These photos are from NCGUB, taken from their latest update on the actions of the Political Defiance Committee.

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