No-one knows exactly the state of play in Burma at the moment. But the mainstream media has done very little to help us understand what is going on there.

Initially TV reports hailed the hundreds of monks who seemed to be taking on the dictatorship on their own. The fact that the rebellion appeared to be inspired by pacifist religious men rather than by political objectives was music to the ears of our politicians, which is why they were so willing to support it.

But they were soon unable to hide what was really going on. Alongside the monks, thousands of youth hurled stones and whatever they could lay their hands on at the regime's stooges. Far from being "non violent", these demonstrations were the latest stage of months of an angry protest against the brutal increase of the cost of living.

Today, we are told that the Burmese military are stopping news and film footage from filtering out of the country. Maybe. But one can only wonder at such a claim. After all, journalists have always managed to smuggle reports, even out of the worst war-torn areas like Taleban-occupied Afghanistan. Could it be that the powers-that-be would rather we did not see what is going on in Burma?

What is beyond doubt, however, is the hypocrisy of the Browns, the Bushs and their like when they "threaten" the Burmese dictators.

Since the Burmese regime showed what it was about by killing 3,000 marchers, 19 years ago, the silence of the West has been deafening. The fact is, that every government defends the interests of one capitalist or another, for whom friendly relations with the Burmese butchers represent a good deal of profits. The US protected the gas investment of oil giant Unocal (now part of Chevron); while British ministers defended British arms exports and timber imports.

This is why the UN's noises about intervening against the Burmese are hot air. Fortunately, in a way, given what happens to the populations when the UN does intervene, as it did in Afghanistan, Haiti or elsewhere.

No, the Burmese demonstrators cannot count on Western governments, in fact they have every reason to beware of their greed. They can only count on their own collective strength and their determination to join ranks with the region's poor populations, in order to build a better future.