The battle for Burma.

Once again armed troops are beating monks and ordinary citizens to contain unrest in Burma. This deeply religious Buddhist country has suffered forty five years of iron rule by it's military.
The generals applied the classical formulae for suppression when they gained power from a coup. They enlarged the army and made sure it and their supporters were well paid and had access to the best consumer goods to ensure loyalty. The rest of the citizenry faced deteriorating conditions as misrule saw prices rise and incomes dwindle.

The junta surprised the world some years ago when they allowed a vote to elect a parliament. Legendary leader Suu Kyi's NLD party won in a landslide. The generals simply ignored the result and Suu Kyi has remained under house arrest ever since.
In 1988 things boiled over and there was an uprising, suppressed by the military with brutality that led to the deaths of thousands.

And so we have Burma today. Simmering and on the edge of revolt with the nation's Buddhist monks leading the movement for change. This time the military are more cautious. They can no longer seal off the country from the rest of the world, thanks to mobile camera phones and the Internet - and so far they have avoided mass confrontations that would result in the massacre of thousands of people.

This is the very situation the United Nations was formed to settle peacefully - and as usual the UN has failed dismally.
The key in this instance is China - which shares a border with Burma - and is it's biggest ally and trading partner.
Burma is blessed with two major assets - gem stones - and oil !
China covets Burma's potential oil reserves and will do nothing to dislodge the junta from power while ever it grants China access to that bounty.
The fly in the ointment is the coming 08 Olympic games in Beijing. The last thing China wants is unrest on it's border during this opportunity to showcase itself to the world - and that brings with it the best opportunity for the world to press China to use it's influence to moderate the Burmese military.
As usual the UN will divide into two camps. Those that support China - and those on the other side of the political divide. Hopefully, world anger at the brutality and suppression in Burma may be enough to move the Chinese to pressure the junta into reform - but it is unlikely that democracy will come to that unfortunate country anytime soon !