From Bad to Worse

Law Eh Soe /EPA

The Burmese street: Demo in Rangoon Aug. 22

Burma's military government is good at two things: cracking down on peaceful demonstrators, and coolly ignoring any international criticism that might follow. Both skills have been on full display in recent weeks, as anger over high fuel prices drove a few courageous people onto the streets, only to be met with the expected heavy hand. If the junta has one bedrock policy, it's to prevent any repetition of the 1988 uprising that came so close to overthrowing decades of army rule. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer once remarked sagely that progress in Burma is like glue flowing up a...

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