fuel subsidies that caused Burmese fuel prices to rise 66%, the uprising began in August 2007. Citizens initially protested in demonstrations against the government’s decision. In response, the SPDC began to arrest and beat protesters. By September, thousands of monks took to the streets of Rangoon, Mandalay. and five other major cities throughout Burma, not only protesting inflated fuel prices but also peacefully demanding basic human rights for all. Within two days, on September 24, 2007, reports of over 100,000 monks demonstrating in Rangoon began to trickle into international news reports. By the end of the month, Burmese troops and riot police began beating, arresting, and torturing thousands of monks and supporters nationwide (Buncombe, 2007). Allegations of monks being disrobed, burned alive, and drowned were also reported. These events were eventually referred to as the Saffron Revolution due to the color of the monks robes. To make matters worse, the military’s lack of concern for basic human rights became even more apparent in May 2008 when Cyclone Nargis hit southeastern Burma. As the second deadliest named cyclone in recorded history, Nargis made landfall in southern Burma on May 2, 2008. While official SPDC estimates were extremely underreported, well over 100,000 people were dead or missing (Beyrer, Doocy & Robinson, 2008). The government response was a stark contrast to its domineering and overbearing presence during the Saffron Revolution—initially not helping in any way to assist those impacted by the storm. When Than Shwe finally allowed foreign aid to enter the country, the government immediately attempted to distribute supplies to known supporters. The cyclone and the regime’s handling of it forced at least the appearance of political change. A new constitution was drafted later that same year but it did little to take any real power from the military. Indeed, the Tatmadaw again enshrined its own privileges behind 17