Last week, the world’s eyes were set on a little-known Southeast Asian nation called Burma (official name: Myanmar), as what began as a peaceful protest by a few hundred saffron-robed monks has become a political protest 100,000 strong. On Monday and Tuesday, these peaceful protesters — monks, students and workers — flocked to the streets of Rangoon (Yangon), Burma’s largest city, to demand an end to the brutal military regime that has oppressed the Burmese people for over four decades. “Democracy! Democracy!” they cried — and what is now known as the Saffron Revolution (named for the color of the monks’ robes) was born.

The wave of protests, which started more than a month ago, began when the Burmese government decided to raise gas prices 500 percent overnight. In a miscalculated move, the Burmese military junta arrested and tortured several protesting monks. In response, monks around the predominantly Buddhist nation organized themselves and demanded an apology. The regime refused to apologize, and protests erupted with a newfound force last week.

What do the Burmese people want? They want the release of all political prisoners, including 1991 Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the nation’s beloved and detained democracy advocate. They want substantive political dialogue with the military regime. They want a halt to all human rights violations, an end to the destruction of villages, a stop to child soldiering. They want, in short, what we all want — democracy, peace and safety.

These are things the military junta refuses to give its people. As it dishes commands from its isolated jungle bunker far from the capital city, the military junta also carefully censors what information the media obtains. According to Reporters Without Borders and the Burmese Media Association, about 10 Burmese reporters have been attacked or banned from working, including reporters from Reuters. Access to the Internet has been shut down in Burma, and the police have been instructed to search pedestrians and confiscate all photographic and recording devices. During this revolution, the military junta has reported 10 deaths — but protesters report far higher numbers.

Besides censorship, which has long been an issue in the country — which shares borders with India, China and Thailand — the regime has responded to the protest with characteristic force. Soldiers have been sent to Rangoon from the eastern part of the country where they had been engaging in an ethnic-cleansing war against Burma’s Karen minority. Burma’s regime has destroyed twice as many villages in eastern Burma as have been attacked in Darfur, Sudan.

The original small protests were led by an older generation of student leaders — many of whom participated in the 1988 uprising against political oppression and economic depression that resulted in a reported 3,000 deaths and 10,000 imprisonments. At a time when the Burmese people peacefully stood up to tyranny, the international community shrugged its shoulders and offered little support.

Following the 1988 uprising, a new military junta took over, but nothing changed. In 1990, the government surprisingly allowed free and fair elections to take place. The National League for Democracy, a party led by Suu Kyi, won 82 percent of the vote. The government, however, declared the election void and placed Suu Kyi under house arrest, where she has remained for 12 of the last 18 years. Last week, authorities moved the aging woman from her family compound in Rangoon to the infamous Insein prison, where other recently arrested democracy leaders are being held and likely tortured.

Although similar to the 1988 protests, the current demonstrations are different in a number of critical ways. First, the protests are currently being led by monks, not students as in 1988. Monks are greatly revered in Burmese society, and the government is less likely to use force against them. An attack could escalate the protests further.

Second, the onset of modern technology has allowed the world to monitor what is happening more effectively. Although Burma has sealed the country off to most foreign journalists, Burmese journalists and citizens are risking their lives by sneaking videos, text and photos to exile groups through cell phones and the Internet.

Third, the international community is paying close attention to the situation — finally. Britain, Canada and France have all warned the government against using violence and have called for reconciliation. Nobel Peace Prize recipients, led by South Africa’s Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, have led the charge calling for more sanctions against Burma and action by the United Nations Security Council. President George W. Bush, in his address to the UN last week, offered his support to the democracy demonstrators in Burma. He called for new sanctions on Burmese leaders and, more importantly, for every government around the world to use economic and political leverage to encourage change in the volatile country. In addition, UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari was sent to Burma and met with government officials last week; however, he did not meet with the two top leaders.

For the sake of the Burmese people, let us hope that the UN continues to act. And please — for Burma, for Darfur, for human rights abuses across the globe — please take it upon yourselves to act. Visit the US Campaign for Burma’s Web site (www.uscampaignforburma.org) and sign a petition or write a letter. And visit White Plaza later this week as Stanford students don their own saffron-colored clothing and join the monks in support of a new, free Burma.