Beginning August 19, 2007 there was a series of peaceful protests across Burma as monks, activists and ordinary citizens challenged misrule and repression. On September 26, the Burmese military government responded with violence. Thousands were detained, hundreds disappeared and the country is in the grip of repression.

Meanwhile, in eastern Burma, a 45-year catastrophe has reached one of its worst moments, as the country's military junta escalates its attacks against the area's ethnic minorities. The government's efforts to assert control over ethnic border areas have emptied over 3,000 villages in a decade, an average of almost one village each day over the past ten years. The forces of Burma's military junta, the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), are mortaring villages, looting and burning homes to the ground, and destroying crops in an effort to obliterate the livelihoods of rural communities. Burmese soldiers are ordered to shoot civilians on sight.

Over 500,000 displaced people live in constant insecurity in eastern Burma, and over 30,000 more have been displaced because of this most recent offensive. Those who are captured by the Burmese army face forced labor, conscription, torture, rape and even execution. The rest are unable to return to their homes for fear of stepping on landmines laid after their escape. Instead, the displaced live in makeshift camps in the jungle, enduring some of the worst health conditions in any world crisis today.

Only broader international consensus and diplomatic pressure will bring an end to these human rights abuses, allow entry of adequate amounts of humanitarian aid, and provide a political solution and a transition to democracy for ethnic minorities and the broader population in Burma.

The video Shoot on Sight was filmed, produced and edited WITNESS' partner, Burma Issues. See the video below and other Burma-related videos and actions you can take.

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March from Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma Sept 2007

BurmaCampaign, Mar 28 08

Witnessed: 1350 times

Burma

Freedom of opinion & expression

Death of foreign photojournalist in Burma Sept 2007

BurmaCampaign, Mar 28 08

Witnessed: 1400 times

Burma

Police brutality

Protests sweep through Rangoon Burma Sept 2007

BurmaCampaign, Mar 28 08

Witnessed: 1202 times

Burma

Freedom of opinion & expression