Myanmar monks defy assembly ban
Thursday, 27 September 2007
YANGON, Sept 26 (AP): Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas canisters while hauling Buddhist monks away in trucks Wednesday as they tried to stop anti-government demonstrations in defiance of a ban on assembly.
The junta had banned all public gatherings of more than five people and imposed a nighttime curfew following eight days of anti-government marches led by monks in Yangon and other areas of the country, including the biggest protests in nearly two decades.
A march toward the centre of Yangon followed a tense confrontation at the city's famed Shwedagon Pagoda between the protesters and riot police who fired warning shots into the air, beat some monks and dragged others away into waiting trucks. Tear gas also was used.
The latest developments could further alienate already isolated Myanmar from the international community and put pressure on China, Myanmar's top economic and diplomatic supporter, which is keen to burnish its international image before next year's Olympics in Beijing.
But if the junta backs down, it risks appearing weak and emboldening protesters, which could escalate the tension.
When faced with a similar crisis in 1988, the government harshly put down a student-led democracy uprising. Security forces fired into crowds of peaceful demonstrators and killed thousands, traumatising the nation.
The potential for a violent crackdown already had aroused international concern, with pleas for the junta to deal peacefully with the situation coming from government and religious leaders worldwide. They included the Dalai Lama and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates like detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Wednesday, about 5,000 monks and 5,000 students along with members of the party headed by detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi set off from Shwedagon to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Myanmar's largest city but were blocked by military trucks along the route.
Other protesters at the Sule Pagoda were confronted by warning shots.
Some carried flags emblazoned with the fighting peacock, a key symbol of the democracy movement in Myanmar. The march proceeded quietly with protesters praying rather than chanting.
About 100 monks stayed behind at the eastern gate of the Shwedagon, refusing to obey orders to disperse.
The junta had banned all public gatherings of more than five people and imposed a nighttime curfew following eight days of anti-government marches led by monks in Yangon and other areas of the country, including the biggest protests in nearly two decades.
A march toward the centre of Yangon followed a tense confrontation at the city's famed Shwedagon Pagoda between the protesters and riot police who fired warning shots into the air, beat some monks and dragged others away into waiting trucks. Tear gas also was used.
The latest developments could further alienate already isolated Myanmar from the international community and put pressure on China, Myanmar's top economic and diplomatic supporter, which is keen to burnish its international image before next year's Olympics in Beijing.
But if the junta backs down, it risks appearing weak and emboldening protesters, which could escalate the tension.
When faced with a similar crisis in 1988, the government harshly put down a student-led democracy uprising. Security forces fired into crowds of peaceful demonstrators and killed thousands, traumatising the nation.
The potential for a violent crackdown already had aroused international concern, with pleas for the junta to deal peacefully with the situation coming from government and religious leaders worldwide. They included the Dalai Lama and South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates like detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Wednesday, about 5,000 monks and 5,000 students along with members of the party headed by detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi set off from Shwedagon to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Myanmar's largest city but were blocked by military trucks along the route.
Other protesters at the Sule Pagoda were confronted by warning shots.
Some carried flags emblazoned with the fighting peacock, a key symbol of the democracy movement in Myanmar. The march proceeded quietly with protesters praying rather than chanting.
About 100 monks stayed behind at the eastern gate of the Shwedagon, refusing to obey orders to disperse.