Hundreds of monks marched towards central Yangon on Tuesday in defiance of a threat by Burma’s ruling generals to send soldiers in to end the biggest anti-junta protests in 20 years.
About 2 000 monks and ordinary people marched out of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the former Burma’s holiest shrine and the symbolic heart of a growing campaign against 45 years of unbroken military rule.
Some were waving the bright red ”fighting peacock” flag, the emblem of the student unions that spearheaded a mass uprising in 1988. That rebellion was eventually crushed by the army with the loss of an estimated 3 000 lives.
The junta’s threat of force was an ominous echo of the darkest days of Burma’s history as the international community pleaded with the generals to avoid another bloodbath.
Vehicles mounted with loudspeakers toured central Yangon, blaring out warnings of action under a law allowing the use of military force to break up illegal protests.
”People are not to follow, encourage or take part in these marches. Action will be taken against those who violate this order,” the broadcasts said.
The chilling message behind the legal language of the warnings was lost on nobody in the city of five million people.
”I’m really worried about the possible outbreak of violence,” one street vendor said. ”We know from experience that these people never hesitate to do what they want.”
The broadcasts also accused factions within the deeply revered Buddhist monkhood of instigating protest marches ”with intent to incite unrest”.
After crowds estimated at between 50 000 to 100 000 dispersed on Monday, state radio quoted Religious Affairs Minister Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung as saying action would be taken against senior monks if they did not control their charges.
He was also quoted as telling the State Monks Council the protests were incited by ”destructive elements who do not want to see peace, stability and progress in the country” — junta shorthand for the political opposition.
Soldiers at Shwedagon
For the first time since protests against soaring fuel prices began a month ago, a small number of soldiers were deployed outside the gilded Shwedagon as the international community called on the generals to exercise restraint.
However, the junta, one of the world’s most isolated regimes, has seldom listened to the opinions of others.
China, the closest the junta has to a friend, has been silent since calling earlier this month for national reconciliation and a ”democracy process that is appropriate for the country”. It is not clear, however, what kind of diplomatic pressure China might be exerting behind the scenes.
”The regime has a long history of violent reactions to peaceful demonstrations,” Gareth Evans, head of the International Crisis Group think tank, said in a statement.
”If serious loss of life is to be averted, those UN members with influence over the government are going to have to come together fast,” he said in a clear reference to China, Russia and India.
Other world leaders urged the generals to address the grievances of Burma’s 53-million people who, in the last 50 years, have watched their country go from being one of Asia’s brightest prospects to one of its most desperate.
United States President George Bush was due to announce new sanctions and call for support for political change in a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday.
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari said he was praying the generals opted for compromise and dialogue with the monks and opposition party of detained democracy icon and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi rather than sending in the troops.
”For the sake of the people of Myanmar, for the sake of neighbouring countries and for the sake of Myanmar’s place in the world, we certainly hope that the same reaction that took place in 1988 will not be the case now,” he told CNN.
In 1989, the military junta officially changed the English version of the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar. Burmese opposition groups continue to use the name Burma since they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country.
Jubilation, trepidation
On the streets of Yangon on Monday, the mood was one of jubilation as years of pent-up frustration were allowed into the open — and trepidation at the possible consequence from generals caught on the horns of a major dilemma.
The Burma Campaign UK said its sources had reported the junta ordering 3 000 maroon monastic robes and telling soldiers to shave their heads, possibly to infiltrate the mass ranks of monks marching for an end to 45 years of unbroken military rule.
In 1988, agents provocateurs were seen stirring up the crowds, giving the military the pretext to restore order.
Although more than 150 people have been arrested since the protests started on August 19, the junta has so far remained reluctant to put soldiers on the streets, perhaps mindful of the 1988 bloodshed. – Reuters