Burma troops fire warning shoots to break up protest by monks

More than 200 monks in Pokokku, about 600 kilometers north of Yangon, staged a rally to protest the junta's recent fuel price hikes and adverse living conditions in the country, but they were dispersed by several warning shots fired by army troops, witnesses contacted by telephone said.

The monks, marching, reciting Buddhist prayers and some holding placards demanding lower consumer prices and better living conditions, attracted a large crowd in the city, the witnesses added.

As the crowd supporting the monks approached 1,000 people, plainclothes police and pro-junta militias started arresting the monks and the troops fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd, they said.

At least 10 monks were arrested and some of them were seen bleeding and tied up to a post.

The response was the first in which the junta used the troops and fired warning shots to break up a series of protests that began last month.

Until Wednesday, only pro-junta militia and plainclothes police had been used to control and arrest the activists.

Also Wednesday, three activists were arrested for leading a small rally in Bogalay, a town 100 km southwest of Yangon, that drew hundreds of onlookers and supporters, opposition sources said.

On Tuesday, four activists were arrested separately in Yangon and Labutta for joining a prayer session for detained democracy leader ung San Suu Kyi and for protesting the price hikes, her opposition National League for Democracy said.

An NLD member arriving at Burma's famous Shwedagon Pagoda to join the regular Tuesday prayer session was arrested by the police and taken away to a interrogation camp, while another three activists were arrested the same day when they started a 200 km journey from Labutta to Yangon to protest the price hikes, according to the NLD.

The protests were the latest in a series of demonstrations that began Aug. 19 when a group of about 300 activists led by well-known student leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi marched quietly for about 8 km in Yangon.

Without any previous warning or announcement, on Aug. 15 the military government raised the price of natural gas by up to five times, doubled the price of diesel fuel and raised the price of gasoline 67 percent.

After the Aug. 19 protest, 13 activists, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, were arrested. But protests continued, initially in Yangon, and later in at least 10 other cities across the country.

According to Amnesty International, more than 150 people have been detained in Burma since Aug. 19.

//(Deutsche Presse-Agentur/DPA)