Junta Cracks Down as Rangoon Protests Spread

Demonstrations in Burma over sharp rises in fuel and commodity prices continued on Thursday in several townships of Rangoon and in Magwe Division in central Burma, with some participants suffering beatings and detention by authorities and pro-government mobs, according to witnesses.  

A Burmese activist gives her speech during a protest in Rangoon

About 40 demonstrators— some of them members of the opposition National League for Democracy— marched peacefully to their party headquarters in Shwegondine in Rangoon’s Bahan Township Thursday morning.

The group was eventually broken up by authorities and a pro-government civilian mob, which assaulted several of the protesters, witnesses told The Irrawaddy by phone from the site of the demonstration.

The witnesses said most of the protesters in Bahan Township were later forced into trucks by the violent mob and taken to an unknown location. Among those detained was Myo Khin, the chairman of the Yankin Township’s NLD office.

Protesters taken away in the trucks were believed to have been hold only briefly before being released. Other demonstrators arrested on Wednesday were also released. 

Moe Kyaw, one of the protesters in Bahan, told The Irrawaddy that many bystanders expressed their support for the demonstration as participants marched passed.

“They gave us water and snacks and said they support our protest,” said Moe Kyaw after the demonstration was broken up.

“The authorities were rude,” Moe Kyaw added. “They even removed the sarong of a woman protester while forcing her into one of the trucks.”

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that authorities were ordering bystanders—including reporters—to leave the areas of the demonstrations, and that some reporters were shouted at and physically forced to leave by security officials.

During on protest in Rangoon’s South Dagon, a group of three dozen activists on Thursday were attacked by a pro-government mob wielding bamboo sticks.

Several of the female activists were assaulted and at least three of the protesters were later forced into trucks and taken away, the witness said.

Myint Thein, a spokesperson for the NLD, said the mob in South Dagon Township was led by the chairman of the local Peace and Development Council.

Meanwhile, a group of about 50 demonstrators peacefully marched for more than an hour in Yenanchaung Township in Magwe Division, central Burma. One protester, NLD member Khin Saw Htay, said the protest ended peacefully without attacks or arrests, but that security in the area had been stepped up.

Prior to this week’s protests, authorities on Tuesday arrested 13 prominent members of the 88 Generation Students Group, including well-known activist Min Ko Naing. Their current whereabouts remain unknown.

“Though our leaders have been arrested, we will continue with our movement. We will not fear any arrest or threat,” Mi Mi, a member of the 88 Generation Students, told The Associated Press during Thursday morning’s march.
 
The NLD issued a statement on Thursday warning the government to put an immediate end to violent attacks, threats and arrests of protesters, who were peacefully expressing their discontent over the difficulties of their daily life.

The NLD also said the present issues of the country can’t be solved one-sidedly by the authorities, but that solutions should be sought collectively by all parties concerned.

Protesters in Rangoon said they will continue to stage more demonstrations in the former capital and in other cities such as Mandalay and Taunggyi. Local residents in Taunggyi, Shan State, said that local authorities increased security after a group of students from Taunggyi University had gathered to stage a protest.

Sources in Taunggyi said police officers and plainclothes authorities have been spotted throughout the city and throughout the downtown area. Security officials have also been posted at gas stations. A curfew has also been imposed that prohibits residents from going outdoors after 9:30 p.m. 
 
The military commander of Rangoon Division has also reportedly told senior staff in some government departments on Thursday that civil servants must not take part in any of the protests.