Burmese comic in the can again

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 26th, 2007

It’s been in all the papers— Burma is about to get regime change from within. Or not. Thousands of monks are leading the pro-democracy protests this time. Back in 1988, the ruling junta, who insisted on renaming the country Myanmar (and referring to the capital of Rangoon as Yangon), killed 3,000 protestors.

This time, in response to huge, new protests led by Buddhist monks, they’ve arrested some entertainer/artist types, including a comic!

A comedian famed for his anti-government jibes became the first well-known activist rounded up after the curfew was imposed.

Zarganar, who uses only one name, was taken away from his home by authorities shortly after midnight, with family members saying authorities told them the 45-year-old had been “called in for temporary questioning.”

Zarganar, along with actor Kyaw Thu and poet Aung Way, led a committee that provided food and other necessities to the Buddhist monks who have spearheaded the protests. He earlier had been imprisoned twice and his comedy routines were banned for their satirical jokes about the regime.

It is encouraging that, this time around, the junta is merely gassing the monks, shooting over their heads and hauling them away in trucks. Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Laura Bush have all spoken out about the situation and President Bush yesterday announced new, tighter sanctions on the regime.

Sharp-eyed reader Jeffrey Nealy tipped us off to the above paragraphs!

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