Myanmar monks tear gassed, arrested

Myanmar soldiers and police cracked down hard on the biggest protests against military rule in 20 years, sealing off the Shwedagon Pagoda, firing tear gas and arresting up to 200 monks today.
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But in spite of security forces armed with rifles, batons and shields deployed at key points across the city, a procession of 10,000 monks and civilians marched towards the Sule Pagoda, the end-point of a week of peaceful protests, witnesses said.

Their numbers were swelled as they approached the downtown Buddhist temple, scene of some of the worst bloodshed when troops opened fire on protesters in 1988, the former Burma's last major uprising, killing an estimated 3000 people.

Many of the monks were wearing surgical masks to try to counteract the effects of tear gas, one witness said.

Witnesses and monks said some of the deeply revered Buddhist clergy were beaten and manhandled by riot police as they were taken away from the Shwedagon Pagoda, starting point of the past week's monk-led marches against 45 years of military rule.

Witnesses said they heard no gunshots, but they said security forces burnt plastic pipes to fill the area with smoke.

Despite the defiant column heading towards Sule, the number of monks was well below levels on Monday and Tuesday when they stretched five city blocks chanting "democracy, democracy" with no visible security presence.

That might be explained by the generals, in a sign they were running out of what patience they might have had, sending troops and riot police to at least six big activist monasteries in Yangon.

The international community has urged the junta to use restraint amid fears of a repeat of the 1988 bloodshed, a watershed moment in the Southeast Asian nation's post-colonial history.

Analysts said the scenes on the streets of Yangon on Wednesday were a confrontation between Myanmar's two most powerful forces -- the moral authority of the monkhood and military might.

"This is a test of wills between the only two institutions in the country that have enough power to mobilise nationally," said Bradley Babson, a retired World Bank official who worked in the former Burma.

"Between those two institutions, one of them will crack," he said. "If they take overt violence against the monks, they risk igniting the population against them."

- Reuters