Yangon - Some 200 Buddhist monks on Wednesday held a
demonstration in Pokokku, seat of last monk's so-called 'saffron
rebellion,' provincial sources confirmed.
It was not immediately known if authorities stopped the Pokokku
protest, the first sign of dissent since a brutal military crackdown
on peaceful monk-led demonstrations in Yangon on September 26-27 that
has outraged world opinion and renewed international calls on the
country's junta to bring about democratic reforms.
Pokokku, a sleepy little town on the banks of the Irrawaddy River,
30 kilometres north-east of Bagan, provided the spark for a Buddhist
rebellion against Myanmar's military tyranny that ended in bloodshed
in the streets of Yangon last month.
On September 5, hundreds of monks and their supporters marched the
dusty streets of Pokokku chanting prayers for peace and urging the
government to reverse a fuel hike that was cutting into the already
meagre incomes of the impoverished majority.
When police and troops started shooting, beating monks and,
according to one witness, tied at least one monk to a telegraph pole,
angry monks from the town's largest monastery retaliated by taking
several town officials who had come to negotiate with the abbot
hostage and burnt their four cars at the monastery gates. The
officials were later released unharmed.
News of the clash spread and monks across the nation stepped up
their protests, demanding the government apologize for the beatings
in Pokokku.
Those escalated into the mass democracy demonstrations that ended
in tragedy on September 27 when troops shot at protesters, killing at
least 10 people, although some witnesses put that figure much higher.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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