CNN shows smuggled footage of bloody Myanmar crackdown David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Wednesday October 3, 2007



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Print This Email This CNN has obtained exclusive footage smuggled out of Myanmar (formerly Burma) which provides the first solid proof of rumored atrocities against those protesting against the military dictatorship. The footage shows blood on the streets, protesters being beaten by soldiers, a demonstration being dispersed, and men said to be plainclothes intelligence offices loading those arrested onto trucks. CNN is also reporting that by now most signs of the crackdown have been eliminated, with the blood being washed away and the protesters arrested or simply disappeared. Even worse, reports are trickling out that Buddhist monks have "all but disappeared" in parts of the capital city, and there are rumors of massacres. An international aid worker who just left Burma told CNN of seeing bodies left lying in the street as a deliberate message to the crowd. "To see Burmese people display any kind of anger was incredible to me," she said. "These are people who are peaceful, gentle, turn-the-other-cheek people. ... It's difficult for a Westerner to grasp how significant that is. ... This is huge." The anonymous worker stated that she saw no weapons or violent behavior of any kind among the protesters. She believes that outrage at what has been done to the monks "will spur the people on to larger demonstrations," but added that the West also needs to start using whatever leverage it has against the dictatorship.



The following video is from CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, broadcast on October 2, 2007. (story continues below)



