Last Updated: Monday, 24 September 2007, 14:45 GMT 15:45
UK
Burmese military threatens monks
Buddhist monks march through Ahlone, a Rangoon suburb, on 24
September
Burma's ruling military junta has warned it is ready to "take
action" against Buddhist monks leading mounting protests, state
media have reported.
Brig Gen Thura Myint Maung, the minister for religion, issued the
warning as Rangoon saw the largest march yet.
He warned monks not to go against Buddhist "rules and
regulations".
Monks are highly revered in Burma and any move by the junta to
crush their demonstrations would spark an outcry.
Map of Rangoon showing locations in the democracy march
The military suppressed the last democracy uprising in 1988,
killing some 3,000 people, correspondents say.
The monks had called for the entire country to join them in their
campaign to overthrow the government, which began eight days ago,
and Monday saw marches in at least 25 towns and cities, including
Mandalay, Sittwe and Pakokku.
Turnout estimates in Rangoon, Burma's biggest city, range from
50,000 to 100,000.
Monday's marches are a show of defiance unthinkable just a few
weeks ago, BBC Asia correspondent Andrew Harding reports.
PROTESTS MOUNT
15 Aug: Junta doubles fuel prices, sparking protests
5 Sept: Troops injure several monks at a protest in Pakokku
17 Sept: The junta's failure to apologise for the injuries draws
fresh protests by monks
18-21 Sept: Daily marches by monks in Burmese cities gradually
gather in size
22 Sept: 1,000 monks march to the home of Aung San Suu Kyi in
Rangoon
23 Sept: Up to 20,000 march in Rangoon
24 Sept: New Rangoon march draws at least 50,000 and 24 other towns
join in
Five columns of monks, one reportedly stretching for more than 1km
(0.6 miles), entered the city centre to cheers and applause from
thousands of bystanders.
Civilians who joined in pinned small pieces of monks' robes on to
their clothing, some of them weeping. They included officials from
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Two well-known actors, comedian Zargana and film star Kyaw Thu,
encouraged the Rangoon marchers early in the day by going to the
golden Shwedagon Pagoda to offer them food and water.
The authorities are likely to be under huge pressure from their
close neighbour China to avoid bloodshed and instability, our
correspondent notes.
But if the demonstrations continue, he adds, the generals may see
their authority ebb away and their options narrow.
The White House has urged Burma's rulers to show restraint and seek
dialogue with "those seeking freedom".
UK Ambassador Mark Canning said Burma's leaders were now in
uncharted territory and he expressed concern about a possible
government counter-reaction.
"That... would be a disaster, although in terms of probability it,
I'm afraid, ranks quite high," he told the BBC.
On Saturday, monks marched to greet Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under
house arrest, but access to her home was barred on Sunday, and
again on Monday.
Monks have been urging Burmese people to hold 15-minute evening
prayer vigils.
The organisation that has emerged to lead the protests, the
Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks, has vowed to continue
marches until it has "wiped the military dictatorship from the
land".
The protests were triggered by the government's decision to double
the price of fuel last month, hitting people hard in the
impoverished nation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7010839.stm
