BULLETS IN THE ALMS
BOWL
An Analysis of the
Brutal SPDC Suppression
of the September 2007
Saffron Revolution
March 2008
This report is dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their
lives for their part in the September 2007 pro-democracy protests in
the struggle for justice and democracy in
May that memory not fade
May your death not be in vain
May our voices never be silenced
Bullets in the Alms
Bowl
An Analysis of the
Brutal SPDC Suppression of the September 2007 Saffron Revolution
Written, edited and published by the Human
Rights Documentation Unit
March 2008
© Copyright March 2008 by the Human Rights
Documentation Unit
The Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU)
is indebted to all those who had the
courage to not only participate in the September
protests, but also to share their stories
with us and in doing so made this report
possible. The HRDU would like to thank those
individuals and organizations who provided
us with information and helped to confirm
many of the reports that we received.
Though we cannot mention many of you by
name, we are grateful for your support.
The HRDU would also like to thank the
Irish Government who funded the publication
of this report through its Department of
Foreign Affairs.
Front Cover: A procession of Buddhist monks marching
through downtown
on
cracked down on protestors with
disproportionate lethal force [© EPA].
Rear Cover (clockwise from top): An assembly of Buddhist monks stage a
peaceful
protest before a police barricade near
Shwedagon Pagoda in
2007 [© Reuters]; Security
personnel stepped up security at key locations around
Buddhist monk holding a placard which
carried the message on the minds of all
protestors, Sangha and civilian alike. [unknown].
Bullets in the Alms Bowl was published by HRDU; © HRDU March 2008.
All contents
of this report may be freely reproduced or
distributed for non-commercial purposes or
quoted for media and other related uses,
provided that which is reproduced is properly
acknowledged. This report was produced on
a non-profit basis and is not for
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courtesy, HRDU would appreciate copies of any
materials in which excerpts from this
report are used.
The Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU)
is the research and documentation
department of the National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).
This report, along with all other reports
published by the HRDU may be viewed on the
NCGUB website at www.ncgub.net. Questions or comments can be submitted to the
HRDU by email at enquiries.hrdu@gmail.com.
BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL
1
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
..
1
Acronyms and
Abbreviations
3
Maps
.
Map of
Map of
6
6
7
I. Executive Summary
..
9
II. Government by
Exploitation: The
Macroeconomic Policy
...
Fiscal Policy
.
Monetary Policy
..
The Economic Cost of
Militarization
.
The Straw that Broke the
Camels Back
.
15
17
17
20
24
27
III. Growing
Discontent: The Economic Protests
..
...
Early Signs of
Dissatisfaction
Protesting the Fuel
Price Rise
..
31
31
32
IV. The Saffron
Revolution
..
The SPDC and the Sangha
...
Interdependence of the
Monastic and Lay Communities
.
Pakokku and the Call of
Excommunication
Nationwide Protests
Declared
..
37
37
38
40
43
V. Crackdown on the
Streets
...
..
Shwedagon Pagoda
...
Downtown
Yankin Post Office
..
Sule Pagoda
49
49
49
54
56
58
58
58
62
65
66
67
72
74
74
75
75
Human Rights
Documentation Unit
2
VI. The Monastery
Raids .
Invitations to
Breakfast
.
Maggin Monastery
..
Ngwe Kyar Yan Monastery
Additional Raids in
Okkalapa
Raids in Other Locations
around the Country
Continued Raids
..
79
81
81
83
86
88
89
89
89
90
92
VII. A Witch Hunt
.
..
Night Time Abductions
...
Arrested for Harbouring
.
Arrests in Lieu Of
Others
Collective Punishment of
Entire Neighbourhoods
.
Release of Detainees
.
Continuing Arrest and
Detention of Political Activists
...
93
95
99
101
103
106
109
VIII. Judicial
Procedure and Conditions of Detention
.
Prolonged Detention
without Charge
...
Judicial Procedure
..
Conditions of Detention
..
Interrogation and
Torture of Detainees
Denial of Medical Care
...
Deaths in Custody
..
Treatment of Monks
.
111
112
116
119
123
131
133
136
IX. Analysis of the
Crackdown: Intent to Brutalise, Cover Up and Discredit
Hired Thugs
.
Targeted and Intentional
Killings
..
Removal of the Dead and
Wounded
Treatment of the Injured
.
Secret Cremations
..
Suppression of
Information
The Internet
.
Telephone Networks
Severed
..
The National Press
.
Deliberate Targeting of
Journalists
..
Providing Information to
the Media
..
Defamation of the Sangha
.
The Pro-SPDC Rallies
139
143
147
149
150
153
156
156
159
159
161
164
165
167
X. Conclusion
...
..
169
XI. Recommendations
.
..
175
BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL
3
Acronyms and
Abbreviations
Acronyms
AAPPB Assistance Association
for Political Prisoners in
ABFSU All
ABMA All
ADB Asian Development Bank
AFP Agence
AHRC Asian Human Rights
Commission
AI Amnesty International
AIDS Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome
AP Associated Press
APPPB
ASEAN Association of South
East Asian Nations
BBC British Broadcasting
Corporation
BCUK
BEW
BSI Bureau of Special
Investigation
BSPP Burmese Socialist
Program Party
CCSDPT Committee for the
Coordination of Services for Displaced Persons in
CID Criminal Investigation
Department
CNG Compressed Natural Gas
CNN Cable News Network
DVB Democratic Voice of
EPA European Pressphoto
Agency
EU European Union
FIDH International Federation
for Human Rights
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GTI Government Technical
Institute
HIV Human Immunodeficiency
Virus
HRC Human Rights Council
HRDP Human Rights Defenders
and Promoters
HRDU Human Rights
Documentation Unit
HRW Human Rights Watch
IB Infantry Battalion
ILO International Labour
Organization
IMF International Monetary
Fund
IMNA Independent Mon News
Agency
INGO International Non-Government
Organization
IPS Inter Press Service
ISP Internet Service
Provider
ITUC International Trade
Union Confederation
KHRG Karen Human Rights Group
KNG Kachin News Group
KNLA Karen National
Liberation Army
KNU Karen National
Human Rights Documentation
Unit
4
LID Light Infantry Division
MDC
MEC
MIC Myanmar Investment
Commission
NaSaKa Burma Border Security
Force (Western border)
NCGUB National Coalition
Government Of The
NDD Network for Democracy
and Development
NGO Non-Government
Organization
NLD National League for
Democracy
NLM New Light of
NPED National Planning and
Economic Development
OHCHR Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights
PDC Political
PSRD Press Scrutiny and
Relations Department
RFA Radio Free
RSF Reporters Sans
Frontieres
SAS Swan Arr Shin; masters of physical
force
SaYaPa Military Security Force
military intelligence
SB Special Branch (of
police)
SCUK Save the Children Foundation
-
SEAPA South East Asian Press
SESG Special Envoy of the
Secretary General
SHAN Shan Herald Agency for
News
SMNC Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee
UDHR Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
UMEH
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations
Development Program
UNGA United Nations General
Assembly
UNIC United Nations
Information Centre
UNICEF United Nations
Childrens Fund
UNSC United Nations Security
Council
UNSG United Nations Secretary
General
USCB US Campaign for
USDA Union Solidarity and
Development Association
VOA Voice of
WFP World Food Program
WHO World Health
Organisation
WLB Womens League of Burma
BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL
5
Abbreviations, Terms and Units of
Measurements
a.k.a also known as
acre 1 acre = 4,840 sq. yards
= 0.407 hectare
approx. approximately
baht Monetary unit of
basket Unit of measurement
equivalent to two tins or roughly 25 kg of rice
Brig. Brigadier (General)
Capt. Captain
Col. Colonel
Cpl. Corporal
Daw Burmese honorific used
to address an adult female
ft foot/feet
Gen. General
kg kilogram
km kilometre
Ko Burmese form of address
to a young male
kyat Monetary unit of
longyi Burmese sarong
Lt. Lieutenant
m metre
Maj. Major
Maung Burmese form of address
to a young male
mm millimetre
n.a. not available
Sangha Buddhist monastic
community
Sayadaw Presiding monk of a Buddhist
monastery
Sen. Senior (General)
Sgt. Sergeant
U Burmese honorific used
to address an adult male in
viss 1 viss = 3.6 lbs
/ 1.63 kg
Spelling Conventions
The following report
employs British (UK) English throughout.
Since there are no
standardised rules for transliteration from Burmese or many
of the other languages
spoken in
be spelt in a variety of
different ways according to those who translate them. As
such, some of the
spelling conventions employed by HRDU for this report may
differ slightly from
those used in reports by other organizations.
Human Rights
Documentation Unit
6
BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL
7
Above: Map of central
the demonstrations dealt with in detail in
this report. Many other protests were
also staged in other parts of
Opposite: Map of
staged across the country throughout
August and September 2007. During this
time, 227 separate protests were reported
to have taken place in at least 66
separate towns and cities in all of
Human Rights
Documentation Unit
8
BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL
9
I. Executive Summary
Beginning in August and
continuing into October 2007, the people of
took to the streets in
the hundreds of thousands, making a variety of demands,
all of which reflected
their dissatisfaction with continued military rule, and the
policies of the ruling
junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
It has been reported
that at least 227 distinct protests were staged during this
time in no fewer than 66
towns and cities throughout the country in each of
Such open dissent is
rare in the authoritarian country, where fundamental
freedoms, such as the
rights of assembly, association and expression are
severely curtailed
through a series of repressive and draconian laws. Those
who have opposed the
regime have habitually found themselves arrested,
tortured or even killed.
Consequently, demonstrations of this magnitude have
not taken place in
protests were seen in
the country, in 1988, the response of the military is widely
believed to have
resulted in the deaths of an estimated 3,000 people.
This report is based
upon the detailed testimonies of over 50 eyewitnesses to
the demonstrations and
the SPDCs brutal response. Human Rights
Documentation Unit
(HRDU) researchers have interviewed monks, activists and
civilians who were
involved in the protests, many of whom have subsequently
fled
clandestinely inside
into hiding but remained
within the country. The information gathered from
these interviews has
been supplemented by reports from various independent
organizations and
credible news sources. Together, they provide insight into a
campaign of brutality,
the intended design of which was antithetical to the very
foundations of
international human rights and humanitarian law, and serve to
contextualize the
protests and their suppression within the general practice of
SPDC governance.
The majority of those
interviewed for this report by HRDU and our working
network inside were
witnesses to the violence on the streets of
though dozens of other
locations around the country were also host to
demonstrations, HRDU has
been unable to obtain eyewitness testimonies for
many of these other
protests. As such, this report focuses primarily upon the
events that occurred in
parts of the country are
beyond the scope of this report and have not been
focussed on. Further
investigation into the crackdowns on these protests is
required.
Notwithstanding this, this report represents the most comprehensive
report detailing the
events leading up to, during and following the protests thus
far produced to date.
1 Source: Maroon Revolution in Numbers, APPPB, October 2007.
Human Rights
Documentation Unit
10
This report begins with
a detailed analysis of the structural violence which gave
rise to the protests, in
terms of both the militarization of society and the
concurrent
impoverishment of the general population. This section assesses
both fiscal and monetary
policy including budget allocation, monetary
expansion and inflation,
state monopolies over natural resources, exchange rate
manipulation and corruption;
as well as the more overt economic abuses
associated with
militarization in
land confiscation.
Following this is a
series of detailed sections focusing on the protests and the
SPDCs response. These
begin with an examination of the initial signs of overt
economic discontent in
early 2007, followed by an account of the August
protests and their
suppression, including eyewitness accounts of assaults and
arrests conducted by
military, police, USDA and SAS members. The entrance
of the monastic
community into the protests is analyzed in terms of their
relationship with both
the SPDC and the Buddhist lay community, before a
descriptive section on
the growth of the protests leading up to 25 September.
The days of the
crackdown, from 26 September to
reported using detailed
eyewitness testimonies of brutality.
The raids conducted on
monasteries during this time, both in
other areas of the
country, are also covered in a section including firsthand
accounts from Ngwe Kyar
Yan Monastery and the killing of a civilian serving as
a night watchman for his
local monastery in
Division. The SPDCs
systematic campaign of arrest during and since the
crackdowns is also
examined and supported by eyewitness testimonies which
attest to the arbitrary
and systematic nature of these arrests, the lack of any
proper procedure, the
arrest of family members in lieu of those they were
unable to apprehend and
the collective punishment of entire neighbourhoods
where protests were
conducted.
Following this, a
section focusing on detention and judicial procedure includes
reports on over twenty
deaths in custody. It also includes testimony on the
grossly substandard
conditions, the treatment of monks, the use of varied
methods of torture
during interrogation, and the denial of medical treatment.
A further section
focussing on the days of the crackdown provides an analysis
of SPDC actions. It
assesses SPDC intent through an investigation of tactics
used, including the use
of civilian militias, the penning in of protest groups, the
use of live ammunition
on unarmed civilians, apparent targeted killings, the
removal of the dead and
injured, reports of secret cremations, the denial of
treatment to the
injured, the suppression of information and targeting of
journalists, and the
defamation of the Sangha.
On
announced sharp
increases in domestic fuel prices. Overnight, the price of
diesel was doubled; the
cost of petrol was increased by over 60 percent and the
price of compressed
natural gas (CNG) was increased a staggering 500
percent. The effect of
this unexpected rise in fuel prices on the general
BULLETS IN THE ALMS BOWL
11
population was
immediate, and served to highlight the ever-worsening
economic plight of the
populace. It was this fuel price rise, and its effects on
basic commodity prices
that initially sparked the mass protests.
On
in
Group who had led the
mass protests two decades earlier. A number of similar
demonstrations were also
conducted on the days that followed.
At first the SPDC showed
some degree of restraint, but responded by mobilizing
two hostile yet
ostensibly civilian organizations under its command. Members of
the Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA), an SPDC-controlled
social welfare organization known fo