BURMA:More than 2,000 Buddhist monks took to the streets of Burma again yesterday in the most sustained and widespread protest against the military junta for more than 10 years.
The authorities made a rare admission that security forces had fired tear gas and warning shots to quell the unrest, which has spread across several cities over the past month.
The situation has prompted one exile group to urge China to use its influence to prevent violence.
Yesterday in Yangon about 500 monks forced their way through closed gates and occupied the Sule pagoda, after marching through the capital in disciplined ranks. According to foreign news reports, they were encouraged by crowds of civilians who clapped, cheered and chanted slogans of support.
Demonstrations are rare in Burma, where the ruling generals have used repressive measures to maintain power without elections since a military coup in 1988. The last big protest rallies ended that year when soldiers killed up to 3,000 civilians, many of them monks and students.
In Sittwe, 350 miles west of the capital, 1,000 monks staged a sit-in at a police station to demand the release of two men jailed for giving water to the monks during a rally against price rises.