Remembering the Saffron Revolution

By Harn Lay 27 September 2016

Nine years ago, Buddhist monks in Rangoon led street protests in what came to be known as the “Saffron Revolution.”

Burma’s security forces lost all sense of Metta (loving kindness) during the revolution, which happened in August and September 2007. Although there were reports that some soldiers had refused to open fire on or attack the monks, several thuggish assaults did take place on monks protesting on the streets. Additionally, told by their commanding officers that anarchists had shaved their heads and were pretending to be monks, troops marched into monasteries in the dead of night and dragged many monks away.

This year, as the nineth anniversary of the revolution is marked, The Irrawaddy posts a cartoon by Harn Lay that we first published in 2007.