Rangoon: ‘army mutiny’ reported-Troops REFUSE To Fire On Crowds

Rangoon: ‘army mutiny’ reported
Troops refuse to fire
on crowds

Reports from Rangoon suggest soldiers are mutinying. It is unclear the numbers involved. Reports cite heavy shooting in the former Burmese capital.

The organisation Helfen ohne Grenzen (Help without Frontiers) is reporting that "Soldiers from the 66th LID (Light Infantry Divison) have turned their weapons against other government troops and possibly police in North Okkalappa township in Rangoon and are defending the protesters. At present unsure how many soldiers involved."

Soldiers in Mandalay, where unrest has spread to as we reported this morning, are also reported to have refused orders to act against protesters.

Some reports claim that many soldiers remained in their barracks. More recent reports now maintain that soldiers from the 99th LID now being sent there to confront them.

Growing numbers of protestors are gathering in Rangoon, with 10,000 reported at the Traders Hotel and 50,000 at the Thein Gyi market. The police are reported to have turned water cannons against crowds at Sule Pagoda.

Many phone lines into the Burmese state have now been cut, mobile networks have been disabled and the national internet service provider has been taken off-line.

more at:
http://www.newsdeskspecial.co.uk/2007/09/army-mutiny-rep.html#more

protesters this is so... Maybe they will set the Democratically elected person free as well.

:hug:

"Good" only in the sense that it may signal the end of a brutal military dictatorship.

Good thought!

Very interesting, indeed.
:kick:

well done young men, well done.

Our prayers are with all the Burmese people.

that is why I am singling out the "young men". Stop being such a nit picker/

Stop being such a(n) ....

I was tongue in cheek when I wrote it. I applauded the monks, male and female, in another thread, but was really impressed and moved by the soldiers too.

is extraordinary. It literally brought tears to my eyes to read that some soldiers were refusing to leave their barracks. I wish there was something we could do for them.

They, in some ways, have more to lose. The monks are totally prepared for this and, thru meditation and discipline are ready for this. These soldiers came to this conclusion and are acting in direct violation of their orders, a death sentence if I have ever seen one. I hope they are not killed.

The soldiers are actually real people, just like us. Mercenaries are, well, mercenaries.

that I had not considered before.

get their elected PM out of prison to take her rightful office after almost 20 years.

I hope this ends peacefully. It's not good, but it's better than it was.

:mad:

I also read the part about water cannons, cutting off of communications, more troops being sent to confront the resisters.
Hope, yet it's still a very very dangerous situation.

They are shocking & awing me with their courage!

in this struggle.

Good for this division if true.

Because the local troops from Bejing refused to go out and attack the people who were in the streets.

which side their troops would be on if they were sent in.

I really, really hope we have that kind of military ourselves--but sometimes I have my doubts.

We need to send some of our riot squads over there and teach them how to do it.

‘Coup’ claimed in Rangoon

September 28, 2007
12:00 PM

I hope Americans are learning.