Lesson for Christians in Buddhist Protests

Clergy in Burma are putting their safety—maybe even their lives—on the line to defend the rights of their nation’s underclass. The protesters, led by Buddhist monks and numbering up to 35,000, have been on the streets for over a week demanding justice from a military regime that has reduced its people to poverty while reserving privilege for itself. The trigger for the protests in this Asian nation now known as Myanmar was a massive fuel price increase.
“Today we saw the most widespread demonstrations since 1988,” said Bangkok-based Burmese analyst Win Min. “Things are moving very quickly.” Win Min characterized the current situation as a spiritual rebellion, an economic protest and a reaction to longstanding suffering, according to a report from the Asia Sentinel.
The Burma protests are a form of religion-in-action not seen in the United States since the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War when church leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and the Berrigan Brothers led street protests to oppose oppression. And despite memories of thousand of Burmese being gunned downed during the 1988 protests, the monks seem prepared to pay whatever price is necessary:
"There's no prospect now of the monks just deciding to abandon this. They are getting braver every day and their demands are getting greater every day, and it's much more overtly political," a Rangoon-based diplomat told Reuters.
As it was in the United States, the presence of religious leaders is problematic for the government. Soldiers are reluctant to beat or kill members of the clergy, although it appears Wednesday in Burma they finally took restrained but clearly aggressive action. The natural and rightful inclination of religions like Christianity and Buddhism is to foster an atmosphere of peace, not violence. The Burmese monks were cautious in taking their complaints to the street—the fuel increases date back to August 19 and the protests grew slowly. Dr. King faced that same reluctance in the 60s as other ministers argued for caution and patience. But when caution and patience become inaction, injustice will flourish unopposed.
We know that Jesus was troubled by religious leaders who not only stood by but benefited as God’s values were being subverted. Is it reasonable to expect our secular leaders to support Godly values like compassion and justice on their own? If not, at what point must religious leaders also become political leaders?