Kyodo World Service, September 17th, 2007
Nearly 400 monks staged a peaceful demonstration in the central
Myanmar town of Kyauk Padaung on Monday, showing their discontent on
the ruling junta.
The monks in Kyauk Padaung, about 600 kilometers north of
Yangon, marched peacefully on early Monday morning to protest against
daily-life hardships of the people and the junta's violent crackdown
on the other protesting monks earlier this month, a resident of the
town said.
The protest was the latest in a series of peaceful
demonstrations in Myanmar, sparked by the junta's decision on Aug. 15
to raise fuel prices up to five times.
Hundreds of onlookers followed the monks when they marched for
about two hours in Kyauk Padaung, chanting prayers meant for the
well-being of the people, the resident said.
The military junta cracked down on a similar protest by the
monks in Pakokku, another central Myanmar town, earlier this month,
sparking anger and discontent among the country's approximately
300,000 monks population.
Over 200 monks in Pakokku were protesting against the general
hardship of the people and on fuel price hikes on Sept. 5, when the
local authorities violently cracked down on their peaceful march,
firing several warning shots and beating some of the participating
monks.
Unlike in Pakokku, the authorities did not harass the monks
marching Monday.
Some secretly formed monk associations in the country last week
had demanded the junta's apology for their mistreatment towards the
Pakokku monks, and urged all the other monks to start boycotting the
junta by Tuesday if it failed to meet the demand by Monday.
The monk associations, through foreign radio broadcasts, called
for a nationwide boycott by the monks, asking them to refuse any
donations from the junta members and its supporters starting Tuesday.
It is not clear how many of the country's monk population would
join the boycott.
Without any previous warning or announcement, the military
government on Aug. 15 raised the price of natural gas by up to five
times, doubled the price of diesel fuel and raised the price of
gasoline by 67 percent.
Activists and opposition party members across the country have
been protesting against the price hikes and adverse living conditions
since Aug. 19, despite brutal crackdowns and arrests.
According to Amnesty International, more than 150 people have
been detained in Myanmar since Aug. 19.
