It's now more than a year and a half since the grassroots uprising in Burma was successfully crushed, and the world turned away. A small country with no apparent geopolitical significance. A brief moment of international outrage fizzled into boredom and disinterest. But the cruel junta still rules. And it remains cruel.
As reported by the BBC:
Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration and is barely eating, her party spokesman says.
Nyan Win said they were extremely worried about the 63-year-old Nobel Laureate's health.
A medical assistant has placed Ms Suu Kyi on an intravenous drip. Her own doctor was reportedly detained after visiting her earlier this week.
Ms Suu Kyi She has been under almost permanent house arrest since 1990.
It would be nice if the international community, and the great leaders of the world's great powers finally would stand up for one of the modern world's few true heroes. Meanwhile, current conditions in Burma are summarized by this April Human Rights Watch report:
One year after the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, the Burmese military government should release all those imprisoned for independently providing humanitarian aid to victims for criticizing the government's response, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck Burma's Irrawaddy Delta region, killing an estimated 140,000 people and severely affecting 2.4 million others.
In the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, the government was slow to mobilize aid efforts or allow international relief agencies access to the devastated region. Since then, it has unfairly tried and imprisoned at least 21 community aid workers who sought to help cyclone survivors, including Burma's most famous comedian, Zargana.
"Basic freedoms for cyclone survivors are just as restricted as they were before the cyclone," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Donors and friends of the military government, such as China, should press Burma's generals to free activists like Zargana who helped the survivors."
Don't hold your breath. China never has been inclined to help. And given that China owns us, we're not likely to press them to. As the world continues to turn. Away.