M A I N   N E W S

Crackdown launched in Myanmar
5 killed in firing; hundreds of monks arrested

Yangon, September 26
Security forces shot and wounded three people, and beat and dragged away dozens of Buddhist monks on Wednesday in the most violent crackdown against the protests that began last month, witnesses said. About 300 monks and activists were arrested, dissidents said.

Reports from exiled Myanmar journalists and activists in Thailand said security forces had shot and killed as many as five people in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon..

Witnesses in Yangon known said they had seen two women and one young man with gunshot wounds in the chaotic confrontations.

Zin Linn, Information Minister for the Washington-based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, which is Myanmar’s self-styled government-in-exile, said at least five monks were killed while an organisation of exiled political activists in Thailand, the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area said three monks had been confirmed dead, and about 17 wounded.

Exiled Myanmar media reported similar figures, citing witnesses.

A Norway-based dissident radio station, the Democratic Voice of Burma, said that one monk was killed and several injured in clashes in downtown Yangon.

The security forces fired warning shots and teargas to try to disperse the crowds of demonstrators while hauling away defiant Buddhist monks into waiting trucks — the first mass arrests since protests in this military dictatorship erupted on August 19.

About 300 monks and activists were arrested across Yangon after braving government orders to stay home, according to an exile dissident group, and reporters saw a number of cinnamon-robed monks, who are highly revered in Myanmar, being dragged into military trucks.

The junta had banned all public gatherings of more than five people and imposed a nighttime curfew following eight days of anti-government marches led by monks across the country in the largest protests in nearly 20 years. — AP

Get talking, India to Myanmar
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 26
India today finally broke its silence on the situation in Myanmar as anti-government demonstrations by Buddhist monks in that country entered their ninth day.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in a pithy remark, said, “The government of India is closely monitoring the situation in Myanmar. It is our hope that all sides will resolve their issues peacefully through dialogue. India has always believed that Myanmar's process of political reform and national reconciliation should be more inclusive and broad-based.”

New Delhi’s reaction on Myanmar developments has come after the international community has not only firmed up its response but is also bracing for imposing a new wave of sanctions against the military junta in Myanmar, led by the 71-year-old Senior General Than Shwe.

However, international sanctions on Myanmar have not had much of an impact and pro-democracy movement remains moribund, thanks mainly to comprehensive support from countries like China and Russia to Yangon. Of late, India too has joined in this race for wooing Myanmar for enlarging its strategic footprints and tapping that country’s huge gas reserves.

The European Union has already conveyed its very strong position to China, Russia and India on the Myanmar issue and has been pursuing not just a European track but an international track as well.

Even China has changed gears in view of the groundswell of international support for the pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar. Beijing has in past couple of days gone on record advising restraint to Myanmar’s military junta.

For past 42 years, Myanmar has been ruled by the military junta, which did not hand over power to the democratically elected leader Aung San Su Chi when she won elections in 1990. She continues to be either in prison or under house arrest for decades. Myanmar has a track record of brutal repression of pro-democracy movements, the most bloody being the 1988 movement when more than 3,000 people were killed by Myanmar’s security forces.

The international community has been tightening the screws on Myanmar’s military junta and stressing the need for restraint on the part of the authorities. The protestors have learned their lessons from the 1988 developments and have ensured that their ongoing protests are disciplined and non-violent.

The pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar drew the first blood today as one protester was killed and five wounded in police action. Significantly, the protests by Buddhist monks are continuing despite a curfew and a government ban on public assembly.