Despite media reports, not all is total chaos in Myanmar. The protests are apparently confined to certain areas, and daily life, although not quite so normal this week, continues for the vast majority of the populace around the country. Internet cafes remain open and I continue to get updates from people in Myanmar. Just got this note from a foreign friend working in Yangon:
“Picked up my parents from the airport this morning and we’re heading towards Bagan today. All international schools at least are closed, though a few Burmese ones are still open. The roadblock near the person we can’t mention is huge, but at the moment there aren’t too many uniforms there and we could pass that intersection without any trouble. It is less quiet near the two places frequently mentioned ( most likely she means Shwedagon and the Sule Pagoda/City Hall area ) and there people have again taken to the streets. For the moment I have no more news except that the embassy people have had an emergency meeting yesterday. So far, outside certain areas, it seems fairly quiet. It is much more quiet on the streets though.
In another online news report today (from Irrawaddy.com) I noticed this:
Also in Mandalay, three members of the NLD, Tin Aung, Khin Maung Thaung and Myo Naing, and well-known comedian Par Par Lay, were arrested on Wednesday after they offered alms to monks.
That really hit home: I met Par Par Lay earlier this year. He’s a member of the famous Moustache Brothers troupe, a group that performs shows from their home in Mandalay each evening. They aren’t allowed to perform in public (after rubbing the Junta the wrong way with remarks/jokes they made during previous shows) so they are reduced to performing for only tourists. Par Par Lay served a previous jail sentence earlier this decade.
