SECOND TAKE
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: The global business of peace
The world’s ability to stand guard over peaceful protests has become so sophisticated there is even a manual
If you’ve noticed more images of Myanmar’s protests in the news, there’s a reason for that. The demonstrators are displaying signs in English rather than Burmese to reach a global audience. They make sure to march past foreign embassies. They are also using a well-known gesture, the three-finger salute from The Hunger Games, to signify a universal defiance against the military coup of February 1 as well as their own commitment to non-violence.
Myanmar’s pro-democracy activists know that unlike during mass protests in 2007 and 1988 the world has far more peace watchers in place, able to track violence against protesters and other innocent people. A global “peace industry”, enhanced by the connective power of the internet, is establishing a norm that peace can be a positive force, not merely the absence of violence. The protesters, says Myanmar expert Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group, are very much looking for foreign governments to show solidarity with their cau...
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