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| Southeast Asia |
| Unrest spreads in central Burma |
| 2007-09-08 |
| Rangoon (dpa) - Anti-military protests spread Friday in central Burma where the country's military rulers have been forced to crack down on rebellious Buddhist monks, sources said. Earlier this week Buddhist monks took to the streets in Pakokku, 530 kilometres north of Rangoon, to protest against the government's decision to double fuel prices last month and the arrests of more than 100 protestors in Rangoon. On Friday the dissent had spread to nearby Aung-lan town, 515 kilometres north of Rangoon, where anti-government posters were put up around the town encouraging the masses to rise up. Burma's state controlled media on Friday admitted for the first time that the military regime was at loggerheads with rebellious Buddhist monks in Pakokku, central Burma. The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, acknowledged that security personnel had clashed with hundreds of protesting monks on Wednesday in Pakokku and were forced to disperse the demonstration by firing over the heads of the monks. The state media also confirmed reports that 20 Magway Division military officials had visited the Bawdimandine monastery in Pakokku on Thursday and had their vehicle burned by 50 stone-throwing monks. The government officials spent several hours in the monastery before making their getaway in the evening. According to eyewitnesses in Pakkaku, monks on Friday attacked the Nay La Store owned by a prominent government official and allowed a mob to sack the place. Government officials were reportedly fleeing the city. Buddhist monks have a long history of political activism in Burma, a predominantly Buddhist country. The monkhood played a prominent role in Burma's struggle for independence from Great Britain in 1948 and joined students in the anti-military demonstrations that rocked Burma in 1988, which ended in bloodshed. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Japanese ninjas??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-09-08 00:45 |