While what the country should be referred to as is up for discussion, violence has begun there.
Apparently the government has shut down the internet and most phone communication coming out of the country within the last 24 hours. It is scary to think what they have in store that they do not want the rest of the world to see. Just tonight, one of the local news channels here in Hong Kong showed footage from yesterday of the miltary attacking protesters and bystanders. The video shows a man getting shot at point blank range as he fled the rushing troops. Apparently this man was a Japanese reporter, Kenji Nagai, a veteran reporter of many war zones and conflict areas. He's not alone. The latest reports speculate many casualties, including monks.
While the government attempts to block any news of what is happening inside the country, it is more diffilcult to do than in 1988, when 3,000 were killed with very little news of the violence reaching the outside world. The world has changed. The same technology that allows me to ramble on here also plays host to this blog belonging to Ko Htike, a gentleman from (Burma) currently in London (as reported on...drumroll...CNN.com). He is using his sources in the country to get photos, accounts and news to the outside world. If you take one minute to just look at this site to see what the Burmese government so badly wants to hide, then this guy is making a difference.
Unfortunatley, it looks like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.
***UPDATE: Found another web site that is posting some recent photos. I must warn that this link and the above contain some very graphic photos. Use your discretion.
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