Junta 'seized weapons from buddhist monasteries'

Burma authorities claimed they seized weapons from Buddhist monasteries and announced dozens of new arrests, defying world outrage over their violent repression of protesters who sought an end to 45 years of dictatorship.

Recent raids on monasteries turned up guns, knives and ammunition, though it was not yet clear to whom they belonged, according to The New Light of Burma, a mouthpiece of the junta. The government threatened to punish any monks who broke the law, stepping up pressure on clerics who led the protests.

“Monks must adhere to the laws of God and the government,” the newspaper said. “If they violate those laws, action could be taken against them.”

Security eased in the largest city of Rangoon, more than a week after soldiers and police opened fire on demonstrators. Some roadblocks were removed and visitors began trickling back to the heavily-guarded Shwedagon and Sule pagodas, the starting and finishing points of protests that began in mid-August over a sharp fuel price increase.

The junta says at least 10 people were killed in its September 26-27 crackdown - though independent sources say the toll was probably much higher – and that some 1,000 remained in detention centres.

At least 135 monks are being held, according to The New Light of Burma.

In addition, 78 more people suspected of involvement in the rallies were being questioned by investigators, it said.

Tens of thousands of people turned out for last month’s protests, the biggest in nearly two decades against brutal military rule. The junta’s bloody crackdown sparked international condemnation – even from its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Yesterday Malaysia urged the military regime to quickly hold unconditional talks with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, before the world pushed harder for political change.

The comments by foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar followed a warning from the US that it would push for United Nations sanctions against Burma if it failed to move towards democracy.

China and Russia, however, have expressed opposition to any such action and Burma’s foreign minister Nyan Win told the UN General Assembly last week democracy “cannot be imposed from outside”.

The junta’s propaganda machine, meanwhile, continued to claim massive rallies across the country, allegedly in support of the government. The paper said demonstrators denounced the recent protests “instigated” by some monks and members of Suu Kyi’s party.

Demonstrators waved placards and shouted: “We want peace, we don’t want terrorists.” It reported four rallies in central and north-western Burma, attended by 7,500, 19,000, 20,000 and 30,000 people.

Such rallies are widely believed to be stage-managed by the government, with every family in the district forced to contribute one or two members.

The military has ruled Burma since 1962. The current junta came to power after routing a 1988 pro-democracy uprising, killing at least 3,000 people. Suu Kyi’s party won elections in 1990, but the generals refused to accept the results.