No Laughing Matter

The odious Burmese junta has handed down a 45 year sentence for a comedian who went to help victims of the devastating cyclone that came ashore earlier this year. Her punishment was because she spoke out against the junta and their insanely slow relief efforts.

Comedian and activist Zarganar, whose birth name is Maung Thura, was among at least 100 people to receive sentences of two to 65 years since early November. Many of the trials were held in closed sessions, sometimes without defense lawyers or family present.

The military government's wave of harsh sentences has been condemned worldwide by Western governments and human rights groups. They contend that the sentences make a mockery of the ruling junta's professed plan to restore democracy with a 2010 election.

The government holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 in June 2007 — before last year's pro-democracy demonstrations, according to international human rights groups.

No one knows precisely how many died in the natural disaster, let alone how many died as a result of the junta's bogus relief efforts that included preventing and limiting foreign assistance as much as possible.