Thursday, 27 September 2007

NY Times: Myanmar (Burma) Unrest

The NY Times has published a slideshow depicting the latest photographs of the unrest in Rangoon. The photographs are by various news agencies, and not attributed to specific photographers.

The government's security forces cracked down today on nationwide protests, firing shots and tear gas, and raiding at least two Buddhist monasteries, where they beat and arrested dozens of monks. A monk at the Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery, pointing to bloodstains on the concrete floor, said a number of monks were beaten and at least 70 of its 150 monks taken away in vehicles.

The government told Japan’s Embassy in Rangoon that a Japanese national was killed, and reports indicate that he appeared to be a photographer.

To me, the above photograph (Reuteurs) in the slideshow is representative of the current situation...a monk defying the security forces. It's not really iconic but is a photograph that tells the story in its simplicity. However, it's cropped...the horizontal version (at least part of it) is here

It appears that tourist visas are still issued by some embassies of Myanmar...but at a slower pace and with greater scrutiny, while some photojournalists and journalists do not seem to have been given visas.

The whole slideshow is here: Burma's Unrest (Registration may be required)

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