TC/ VIDEO | AUDIO | |
0000 ‘September 20' (Subtitle) - temple (zoom-in) 0006 monks coming out of the temple
0010 Following monks with their shoes
0016 Protesters (F-S)
0026 Crowd of monks outside the temple - ‘September 24' (subtitle)
-protesters (F-S)
0043 People encircling the monks holding each other's hands - hands in hands (zoom-in)
0055 Protesters (zoom-out)
0107 Protesters shouting rallying words
0114 Street scene 0118 Militant trucks
0124 sound of gun shot, camera shaking
0129 crowds running away 0133 Empty street, Militants violently putting out riot 0138 - Interview with a representative of the government in exile -
0151 - Interview -
0156 Empty Street, Pan
2008 Stopped taxis
0217 Car driving
0223 Outside scenery of temple
0228 People worshiping in temple
0240 Empty Street - pan visible people
0253 Zoom out, hanging on bus - getting off bus
0302 Buses standing still
0314 People walking
0323 Walking
0330 - Interview -
0337 Pan people walking
0344 - Interview -
0357 Newspaper Article
0406 Exterior of Gas Station
0419 Mark CNG
0430 pan parked buses
0441 - Interview -
0503 Gasoline container
0515 Street, Pan Taxis
(Continued to the subtitles in taxi) 0529 - Interview -
0543 Cover of an account book in red color
0552 Street, parked cars
0559 Pouring gasoline into a container
0617 - Interview -
0630 carrying gasoline container
0635 taking out gasoline from cars
0649 Outside of a plant
0665 Inside the plant
0707 - Interview -
0724 firewood
| September 20th in Yangon
Thousands of monks flooded the street in the pouring rain.
The people of Yangon followed them with bare feet.
The anti-government protest in Myanmar that had been running for a month was entering a new phase as a large number of monks joined it.
It's been a week since the monks joined the protest
The news overnight of the arrest of monks associated with the protest attracted even more crowds.
Holding hands, the people surrounded the monks to protect them from the threat of the military.
As the street march continued, the number of protesters reached 100,000. This figure is the biggest since the Democracy Protest in 1988. As of midnight on the 26th, the military government imposed a curfew on the town of Yangon. SOV> General Aung San did not create an army to kill the people...
The riot was not suppressed and as warned the military are dispatched. The demonstrators and military confront eachother. It's a moment of crisis. (after hearing the gun shots) Finally, the worst has happened. Casualities are caused by the military's violent suppression. What are the reasons behind the rioting, despite violent suppression by the military regime?
"On 15th of August, the Myanmar military regime doubled the price of oil and quadrupled the price of gas." Interview with a female factory worker "Prices have gone up and it is hard to feed my family." After the increase in fuel prices, people with no livelihoods came onto the streets and demonstrated despite violent suppression by the military regime. Rioting sparked by one issue is now becoming a burning desire for democracy among the people of Myanmar, after long oppression under the military regime. Yangon, the old capital of Myanmar. The centre of Myanmar's economy and politics. Flamboyant Buddhist temples are the first things you see, as Myanmar's population is mostly Buddhist. In Myanmar, the influence of Buddhism is absolute. To such an extent that even the military regime puts the photo of militant officials worshiping at a Buddhist temple on the front page of the papers to pacify the people. A bus stop in the Yangon country side. The bus stop is crowded with people waiting for a bus to go to school and work but no buses come for thirty minutes. Finally, a mini-bus arrives but is unable to carry all the passengers. People continue to wait for buses not knowing when they will arrive. The reason for all the fuss is because many bus companies reduced their routes after the increase in fuel prices. Some of the long distance bus routes have been completely cancelled fully and some people had to give up work because of problems commuting.
In contrast, streets are crowded with the many people who decided to walk. A man(pedestrian) Q: "Are there no buses?" A: "I decided to walk." Some decided to walk because they can no longer afford the cost of bus fares, which nearly doubled after the fuel price increase. A man(pedestrian) A: "I am walking because I can't afford the bus fare." Q: "Have the bus fares increased a lot?" A: "Yes." On the 15th of August, the military regime of Myanmar suddenly increased fuel prices including Diesel, natural gas and other energy generating resources. In just a single day, fuel prices went up nearly five times. In Myanmar, fuel can only be bought from the state owned gas stations. So it's inevitable that the increase in fuel prices will also create increases in public transport fares. The price of CNG, the main fuel source for the city buses, has increased dramatically by five times. Bus fares were doubled, but were still insufficient to maintain the regular schedule of commuter buses. To resolve this crisis, bus companies cut timetables dramatically. Interview with a bus driver "I don't get paid monthly. I get paid daily. Bus drivers get $1.50 a day and assistants get about a $ a day." "Is it enough to pay for the fuel?" "We barely survive." He understands the inconvenience it causes people, but says there is no solution. The situation for taxi drivers is the same. After the huge increase in taxi fares, taxi drivers stop their cars on the street and try to attract custom.
Interview with taxi driver "The gasoline price was a $ at first and is now officially $2.30. If you buy it on the street you have to pay $3.85." The amount of gasoline that can be bought from a state owned gas station is limited and so people go out and buy what they need from the black market. A street far from Yangon centre. Cars rush in. Taking a closer look, a man is pouring gasoline into a container. Interview with a man "Has the price of gasoline increased a lot?" "When the government's price of gasoline was $1.16, gasoline sold here was $2.30. Now it is sold at $3.50." On the black market, the price of gasoline only has increased by 50% whilst the government price has doubled. It is because many cars come out here to sell out gasoline instead of buying it. Many people want to make money from selling gasoline for a higher price after buying it from a state owned gas station. The impact of the increase in the fuel price is not only felt on public transport. This is a Korean-owned clothing factory located in Burgo, the second largest city in Myanmar. The sudden increase in fuel prices by the government has also massively affected the factory. Interview with Hyun-Ho Cho, A CEO of Myanstar "Because of the lack of enough electricity, about 70% of the whole operation requires an electricity generator, which is run by gasoline. So the increase in gasoline prices has an enormous impact on us." A firewood boiler helps for now, but this is also just a temporary solution.
| |
0734 Market // A street market in Yangon. In the evening, several people start to appear... 0740 pan market side // but only few of them are here as customers out to buy goods. 0745 woman cupping chin in hand The rise in cost of transporting the goods has raised the price of basic foodstuffs such as rice and vegetables.
0750 - Interview woman "Before the rise in the cost of energy, the price of rice was $1.40. Now it's $2.30. The price of pork was $1.50 per kilo, but now it's $4.60. The price of Chicken has risen from $1 to $4.60. It's horrible."
0812 Exterior of House The price keeps going up, but laborers' wages remain the same. The people's basic livelihoods are being threatened - a quarter of Myanmar's population lives under the extreme poverty line of $1 a day. 0825 Buddhist altar t.d couple Up to the 1960s, Myanmar was an economic powerhouse in Asia. The military's enduring tyranny relegated Myanmar to one of the world's poorest nations. 0838 Man smoking The military's fuel price hike has brought more misery to the already poverty stricken Myanmar people.
0850 - Interview man " "All I can do is to try harder. I'll try and find a job that pays. Right now, the only thing I can do is work harder. I used to only do office work, but these days I do other work late into the night."
0913 Gas station visible The military has raised the fuel price many times in the past in the full knowledge of the consequences it will have on the general economy. - pan street The democratic uprising in 1988 enabled the National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi to win the presidential elections. But the military put Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest and has been ruling Myanmar with an iron fist. 0930 On site of natural gas extraction Myanmar is a large country with abundant natural resources including petroleum and natural gases. Its particularly abundant natural gas is exported to neighboring Thailand and China, and the profits are the main source of the military's funding.
0948 - Interview representative of exiled regime "The military has control of the majority of Myanmar's economy. They have control of everything. Natural gas exports last year brought a profit of $12 billion but it all went to the military regime."
1005 Central Yangon //When The U.S. gave a warning to Myanmar military's regime, the military moved the capital city in fear of a U.S. attack. - CG map The new capital ‘Nebido' was built secretly in the jungle. It has missiles and defense bombs that basically make it a fortress. The energy price hike this time around was to fund the cost of moving the capital city. 1033 military leaders Even amidst all this... The military's main leader spent more than $50 million US dollars on his daughter's wedding. The military ignores its people's suffering. 1043 street, demonstrators (briefly show...) The Myanmar people, who have endured the ongoing tyranny for the past 45 years, have finally called this energy price hike the last straw. The people's anger towards the military exploded. - Z.I monks With the much respected monks leading the demonstrations, the uprising has reached a critical mass. 1106 screen shakes, gunshots heard (after gunshots...)
- Continued On the 26th of September, despite many warnings from the international community, the Myanmar government started to quell the riot through lethal force. 1117 a group of demonstrators However, the next day, thousands of monks and civilians joined the continued peaceful march against the regime. 1126 - Interview - Interview with a representative of the government on exile "Demonstrations did not decrease even after the arrests of some student protesters. Student activists, NLD (National Democratic coalition of Burma) and the leaders of minority groups are uniting to carry out protests. What we want to achieve is to make this protest a similar one to the 1988's democratic protest. I think many more citizens will join in for the forthcoming protest."
Demonstrators (SLOW) The anti-government protest in Myanmar has already claimed lives. To make sure these sacrifices will not go to waste, the international community should step in to create true democracy in Myanmar. (Epilogue 20``)
|
| |
|
| |