Show of force by police on anniversary of Burma protests

Hundreds of riot police, armed with assault rifles and tear gas, moved into position at sites in Rangoon where Burmese protesters staged a bloody, pro-democracy demonstration a month ago today.

The sudden show of force after several weeks of relative quiet in Burma’s largest city appeared aimed at forestalling any protests on the one-month anniversary of a key day in the anti-regime uprising.

There were no immediate signs that any public protests would take place but thousands of pilgrims thronged to the Shwedagon and other pagodas.

A Burma reporter who tried to take the photo of the pilgrims climbing up the eastern gate of the Shwedagon was immediately surrounded by nearly a dozen riot police and a police officer confiscated the flash card from the camera.

The reappearance of heavy security in Rangoon came a day after detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met a newly appointed Burma government official, part of a UN-brokered attempt to nudge her and the military junta toward reconciliation.