The death toll in Myanmar (Burma) from the cyclone is now at 22,000.

During the government crackdown in September and October, I linked to several blogs within the country that reported on the imprisonment and beating of monks and other protesters. In the wake of the cyclone, however, it’s difficult to find up-to-the-minute blogs out of Burma, likely in large part because the storm wreaked havoc with basic infrastructure. Burma Digest, however, is still posting.

A chilling post from today. (I’m copying the entirety of the post here, as the link to the post on Burma Digest is no longer active).

The Cyclone Nargis also hit Insein Prison in Rangoon. On Saturday morning at around 8 am local time, the roof of the Insein prison building was ripped off by the cyclone and a fire broke out in Hall No 1. The prisoners inside the cells called for help for hours, but prison authorities failed to show up. Finally some young jail service men opened the doors to the cells.

As prisoners ran around in the prison compound, army soldiers fired at least 30 gun shots at them from the top of the roof. At least thirty-six prisoners were killed by the shots and 70 more injured.

No political prisoners are among the dead. All prisoners are in great need of health assistance, blankets and drinking water, and political prisoners have made demands for these needs but prison authorities denied their demands as well as aid delivery from family members who went to the prison today.

Once again, I’d like to direct readers who are interested in Burma to Emma Larkin’s excellent Finding George Orwell in Burma, which chronicles the truly Orwellian culture of censorship in the country today.

O