BURMA:Burma's military rulers last night threatened to "take action" after up to 100,000 demonstrators protesting against the regime flooded the streets of Rangoon in the biggest show of dissent in almost two decades.
Tens of thousands of Buddhist monks and pink-robed nuns led the marchers who snaked for nearly a mile through the former capital, one of several marches that slowed traffic to a crawl and prompted the closure of shops and schools.
The monks, carrying flags and banners proclaiming the peaceful nature of the demonstration, were flanked by even greater numbers of people who joined the parade, clapping and chanting in what many described as a carnival atmosphere. The mood of elation among the ranks on the sixth straight day of marches sparked by crippling fuel price rises reflected the surprise that the generals had not crushed the anti-government movement.
But in the regime's first response to the protests, the minister for religious affairs, Brig-Gen Thura Myint Maung, was quoted on state-owned radio as saying "actions will be taken against the monks' protest marches according to the law if they cannot be stopped by religious teachings".
He blamed the protests on "destructive elements who do not want to see peace, stability and progress in the country."
An estimated 3,000 students and some monks were killed during the last great pro-democracy uprising in 1988, when the military cracked down on demonstrators demanding that the junta step aside.
The crowd's growing confidence was reflected yesterday when leading entertainers, including the comedian Zaganar and the film star Kyaw Thu, took part in the protest. The pair joined MPs who donated food to monks gathering at the rally's starting point, the golden-domed Shwedagon pagoda, Burma's most sacred shrine.
Other groups of monks accompanied by thousands of protesters marched from other points of Rangoon in what has become a highly co-ordinated protest. Monks walked with alms bowls upturned as a symbol of defiance.
As many as 20,000 protested in the second city, Mandalay, and there were reports of smaller marches in the northwestern oil town of Sittwe and the religious centre of Pakokku.
Some demonstrators chanted support for Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist who has been detained for 11 of the past 17 years after her National League for Democracy swept to victory in a 1990 general election. She was seen in public for the first time in three years on Saturday when 2,000 protesting monks were allowed through barricades to pray near the home where she is under house arrest, and she emerged to pray with them. But on Sunday and yesterday the barriers were reinforced to prevent a repeat.
The protests, sparked by a doubling of petrol and diesel prices, and a fivefold rise in the price of cooking gas on August 15th, tapped a deep well of anger in a country in economic crisis. Inflation runs at 40 per cent and most people suffer economic hardship.
Britain's ambassador in Rangoon, Mark Canning, applauded the Burmese military's handling of the dissent, but fears the demonstrations could yet end in bloodshed. "So far the military have shown commendable restraint," he said. "But there are a number of scenarios that could unfold. The protests could just fizzle out, though that looks less and less likely with each passing day. Or the government could try to restore its authority. A counter-reaction would be disastrous. They need to be extremely careful, as harming monks would make matters much worse."
The reverence in which Buddhist monks are held in a country where almost every family sends a son to the monastery may explain the softly-softly approach. But Aung Niang Oo, a Burmese exile, believes neighbouring China is also playing a restraining role. "China wants stability in Burma and believes the military is the only one to provide that," he said.
•Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern yesterday praised those leading and participating in the protests, and again called for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
"Like many others, I have been struck by the dignity and courage of the protests by thousands of Buddhist monks and tens of thousands of ordinary people in cities across the country, and their appeal for national reconciliation, genuine democracy and improved living conditions," he said.