The Myanmar Mission on the upper east side woke up to some surprising Human Rights Day activism this morning. On the symbolic day as the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon publicly condemned the Myanmar government, which changed its name from Burma during this current military regime, by stating that international community's patience with the junta is "running out fast," stark red paint resembling blood was thrown on the door of the embassy and the sidewalk of the gated entrance was spray painted with an image of two monks and the words "PEACE IN BURMA" in red, symbolizing the colors of the Saffron Revolution, the term coined for the protests against the country's military junta led by Buddhist monks. Ranked among the 20 poorest countries and the only country to imprison a Nobel Peace Prize winner––the leader of the nation's democratic movement, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi––the notoriously oppressive military crushed the anti-government protests in August of 1988. Nearly twenty years later, this summer saw the most recent mass demonstrations against the junta when the regime suddenly raised gas prices to as high as 500% within a day.
This political act of vandalism committed on the gates of the Myanmar mission voices the anxious distress and anger of the international community against this oppressive military government.