Burma's rulers turn to violence

Burma’s anti-government protests turned ugly today with troops firing warning shots and tear gas into crowds of demonstrators.

They also dragged away hundreds of defiant Buddhist monks in trucks – the first mass arrests since protests erupted last month.

One dissident radio station, the Democratic Voice of Burma, claimed a monk was killed and several injured in clashes in Rangoon but the death was not confirmed by other sources.

“The troops opened fire into the crowd, and they also used tear gas and some Buddhist monks have been beaten up,” said Aye Chan Naing, editor of the Norwegian-based station which has undercover reporters in the Burmese capital.

About 300 monks and activists were arrested across Rangoon after defying government orders to stay at home.

The ruling junta yesterday imposed a night time curfew following eight days of marches led by the monks across the country.

The protests, originally triggered by swingeing fuel price increases, are the largest since 1988 when 3,000 demonstrators were killed by troops.

Foreign governments and religious leaders have urged the junta to deal peacefully with the situation.

President Bush yesterday announced new US sanctions against Burma, accusing the military dictatorship of imposing “a 19-year reign of fear” that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship.

The European Union also threatened to strengthen existing sanctions if the regime uses violence to put down the demonstrations.

As the ninth consecutive day of unrest began, about 10,000 monks and students left the shrine of the Shwedagon Pagoda for the heart of Rangoon, but were blocked by military trucks along the route.

Other marchers fanned out into city centre streets with armed police and troops trying to disperse them.

Witnesses said an angry mob at the pagoda burned two police motorcycles.

“It’s scary here. They will kill us, monks and nuns. Maybe we should go back to normal life as before,” said one young nun.

But a student at a roadside watching the arrival of the demonstrators said, “If they are brave, we must be brave. They risk their lives for us.”

The two asked that their names not be used for fear of reprisals.

Other protesters carried flags emblazoned with the fighting peacock, a key symbol of the democracy movement in Burma.

A branch of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy exiled in Thailand said 300 people had been arrested in Rangoon.

Soldiers with assault rifles had earlier blocked all four major entrances to the soaring pagoda, one of the most sacred in Burma, and sealed other flash points of anti-government protests.

Burma’s leaders had warned monks to stop the protests after around 100,000 people joined marches in Rangoon on Monday.

The junta imposed the 9 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew and ban on public assembly after 35,000 monks and their supporters defied the warnings to stage another day of protests yesterday.

In Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, more than 800 monks, nuns and laymen played a cat-and-mouse game with 100 soldiers who tried to stop them marching from the Mahamuni Paya Pagoda, which they had tried to enter earlier.

“We are so afraid, the soldiers are ready to fire on civilians at any time,” a man near the pagoda said.

If the military responds to new protests with force, it could further isolate Burma from the international community. It would almost certainly put pressure on Burma’s top economic and diplomatic supporter, China, which is eager to polish its international image before next year’s Olympics in Beijing.

If monks who are leading the protests are mistreated, that could outrage the predominantly Buddhist country, where clerics are revered. But if the junta backs down, it risks appearing weak and emboldening protesters, which could escalate the tension. There are about 500,000 monks and novices in Burma.