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A DIFFERENT KIND OF REVOLUTION305As David Steinberg points out in Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know, theSaffron Revolution was neither saffron nor a revolution. Burmese monks wear maroon(not saffron) coloured robes for a start. The revolutionary part of the events of 2007 wasthat, for the first time, they were broadcast via smuggled out videos on satellite TV orthe internet. ‘For the first time in Burmese history, violent suppression by the state wasnot simply a matter of rumour but was palpably visible’, writes Steinberg. For a nailbitingaccount of how such incendiary video evidence was captured, watch the Oscarnominateddocumentary Burma VJ (www.burmavjmovie.com).Unexpectedly, monk-led crowds were allowed to pray with Aung SanSuu Kyi from outside her house gates on 22 September. Two days later,anything from 50,000 to 150,000 protestors marched through the streetsof Yangon in what would become known as the ‘Saffron Revolution’. All thewhile the government watched, photographing participants.On 26 September the army began shooting protestors and imposed acurfew. A monk was beaten to death, monasteries were raided and 100monks were arrested. The following day, a soldier was caught on videofatally shooting Japanese photographer, Kenji Nagai at the southwestcorner of Sule Paya Rd and Anawrahta Rd in central Yangon (Nagai mayhave been mistaken for a local, as he was wearing a longyi). Two dayslater, with around 3000 people arrested and 31 people dead, the protestswere quashed, and an unsettled quiet hung over Myanmar’s cities.Cyclone NargisIn the aftermath of the 2007 demonstrations, Than Shwe made promisesto fend off outside criticism. First, he finalised the long-delayed new constitution,which had been under discussion since 1993 and which included aprovision that the generals would not be legally held to account for crimesagainst the population committed during their governing period. Second,he announced a national referendum for it on 10 May 2008. But on 2 Maya natural disaster took hold, as Cyclone Nargis – the second-deadliest cyclonein recorded history – tore across an unaware Ayeyarwady Delta.Cyclone Nargis’ 121mph winds, and the tidal surge that followed, sweptaway bamboo-hut villages, leaving over two million survivors withoutshelter, food or drinking water. Damages were estimated at $2.4 billion.Yangon avoided the worst, but the winds (at 80mph) still overturnedpower lines and trees, leaving the city without power for two weeks.The government was widely condemned for its tepid response tothe disaster. Outside aid groups were held up by a lack of visas and theLegend has itthat Buddha gaveeight of his hairsto a couple ofvisiting Burmesemerchants 3000years ago. Theyare enshrined inYangon’s ShwedagonPaya.BUDDHAHISTORY POST-1990 MYANMAR2002In March, Ne Win’sson-in-law andthree grandsons arearrested for plottingto overthrow the junta;Ne Win is placed underhouse arrest and dies5 December, aged 91.2003Aung San Suu Kyiand NLD membersare attacked by progovernmentmobs innorthern Myanmar; upto 100 are killed. ‘TheLady’ is again placedunder house arrest.2004Having brokered aceasefi re agreementwith Karen insurgents,Prime Minister KhinNyunt, the moderatevoice in the militarywho outlined a sevenpoint‘roadmap’for democracy, isarrested.2006General Than Shweand the governmentmove the capital fromYangon to Nay Pyi Taw,a new city in centralMyanmar.