Burmese military cracks down on escalating protests

Thursday, September 27, 2007 : A Buddhist monk in Myanmar tells Al Jazeera of the protesters' demands.

Monks have formed the vanguard of opposition to Myanmar's military government [Reuters]

Uppekha is Buddhist monk and member of the All Burma Buddhist Monks Alliance, one of the groups that has led the wave of anti-government protests in

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Thursday, September 27, 2007 : Burmese soldiers fire shots as they attempt to disperse thousands of protesters on the streets of Rangoon.

There are now more ordinary people on the streets

Witnesses said it was not clear whether bullets were fired into the crowd or above heads. At least one person - a Japanese man - has been killed.

The military have been broadcasting warnings that the protesters should go home or face "serious action".

World leaders have renewed their calls for an end to the violence.

Gunfire

The fresh protests follow reports of overnight raids on six monasteries.

According to witnesses, soldiers smashed windows and doors and beat the sleeping monks. Some escaped but hundreds of monks were taken away in military trucks.

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Thursday, September 27, 2007 : U.N. Security Council members aren't in agreement on what role to play in Myanmar. But they back a decision to send a U.N. envoy to urge military rulers to exercise restraint in dealing with mass protests led by Buddhist monks.

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Thursday, September 27, 2007 : Pro-democracy marches that are pitting Buddhist monks against Myanmar's ruling military junta recall the rallies of 1988, which led to the overthrow of the long-time military dictator General Ne Win. But democracy did not take root. Instead, army generals took over.

And they have ruled Myanmar ever since.

Melissa Block talks with Joshua Kurlantzick, a visiting scholar in the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who is the author of Charm Offensive, about China's relationship with Myanmar and other Asian countries.

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Thursday, September 27, 2007 : Soldiers in Myanmar's largest city fired warning shots over the heads of an estimated 70,000 anti-government activists and Buddhist monks who defied orders from the country's military regime to halt days of protests. Witnesses told The Associated Press that bloody sandals were left in the road as thousands scattered amid the gunfire near a bridge across the Pazundaung River on the east side of downtown Yangon.

Five men were arrested and severely beaten by soldiers, they said.

Some protesters shouted "Give us freedom, give us freedom!" at the soldiers amid the chaos that marked a tenth day of street protests against the government.

In the stiffest challenge to the generals in two decades, thousands of ordinary citizens have joined the marches in recent days, emboldened by the participation of robbed monks who enjoy a revered status in Myanmar society.

However, the nation's junta, which has ruled with an iron fist for nearly two decades, has grown nervous and impatient with the protests. On Wednesday, security forces beating protesters and made hundreds of arrests.

The government on Wednesday acknowledged that riot police had fired on protesters, killing at least one person; however, dissident groups said the death toll from the day's violence was as high as eight.

Some reports said the dead included monks and the emergence of such martyr figures could stoke public anger against the regime and escalate the violence.

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