Myanmar protesters defy junta with new protest
Friday, 24 August 2007
YANGON, Aug 23 (AFP): Pro-democracy supporters defied the junta in Myanmar to stage their third protest within a week Thursday, underlining what analysts say is deepening public anger at crippling economic hardships.
Such public defiance on the streets to a government that deals harshly with dissent has not been seen in Myanmar in at least nine years, they said.
The protests were sparked by a massive hike in fuel prices last week, and have thrown a global spotlight on the isolated and impoverished country.
About 40 protesters, most of them from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), were on their way to party headquarters when about 20 members of the security forces and pro-government militia blocked their path.
The protesters tried to resist by forming a human chain on the pavement but they were yanked apart, thrown into trucks and carted off.
About 100 people watched the confrontation in silence near downtown Yangon, the main city in the secretive country formerly known as Burma.
The scene was quickly over, but it was still the third time in a few days that people have dared take on the generals who run the country.
It followed a demonstration Wednesday by about 150 activists -- cheered on by bystanders -- who marched through the city in protest at last week's fuel price hike, which doubled transport costs overnight.
About 500 people joined a similar march Sunday to show their anger over the raise, which has left many urban workers unable to afford even a bus fare to get to their jobs.
The junta, which keeps a tight grip on the nation's media, usually deals harshly with protesters.
But analysts say they have underestimated how angry the price hike has made the public, who have been coping with a moribund economy that critics say has been mismanaged by the ruling generals.
"The economy is no longer deteriorating. It's decaying," said Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma pressure group, who added that residents appeared willing to take greater risks to demand change from the government.
"People feel they don't have very much to lose," she said.
Myanmar analyst Win Min said the protests still took extraordinary courage after 1988, when the army opened fire on an uprising and left hundreds if not thousands dead.
"Now there is a fear that the military might shoot again on the streets," he said.
The government says 13 people were arrested over the protest Sunday, including some of the nation's most prominent pro-democracy leaders. Activists say at least 10 others have been jailed.
Such public defiance on the streets to a government that deals harshly with dissent has not been seen in Myanmar in at least nine years, they said.
The protests were sparked by a massive hike in fuel prices last week, and have thrown a global spotlight on the isolated and impoverished country.
About 40 protesters, most of them from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), were on their way to party headquarters when about 20 members of the security forces and pro-government militia blocked their path.
The protesters tried to resist by forming a human chain on the pavement but they were yanked apart, thrown into trucks and carted off.
About 100 people watched the confrontation in silence near downtown Yangon, the main city in the secretive country formerly known as Burma.
The scene was quickly over, but it was still the third time in a few days that people have dared take on the generals who run the country.
It followed a demonstration Wednesday by about 150 activists -- cheered on by bystanders -- who marched through the city in protest at last week's fuel price hike, which doubled transport costs overnight.
About 500 people joined a similar march Sunday to show their anger over the raise, which has left many urban workers unable to afford even a bus fare to get to their jobs.
The junta, which keeps a tight grip on the nation's media, usually deals harshly with protesters.
But analysts say they have underestimated how angry the price hike has made the public, who have been coping with a moribund economy that critics say has been mismanaged by the ruling generals.
"The economy is no longer deteriorating. It's decaying," said Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma pressure group, who added that residents appeared willing to take greater risks to demand change from the government.
"People feel they don't have very much to lose," she said.
Myanmar analyst Win Min said the protests still took extraordinary courage after 1988, when the army opened fire on an uprising and left hundreds if not thousands dead.
"Now there is a fear that the military might shoot again on the streets," he said.
The government says 13 people were arrested over the protest Sunday, including some of the nation's most prominent pro-democracy leaders. Activists say at least 10 others have been jailed.