[Onthebarricades] MYANMAR/BURMA: Fuel price hike prompts protests

[Andy]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6D6B839B-7998-4A9E-92B2-C20177E2E82B.htm

Myanmar demo over fuel price hike

Transport costs and the prices of many consumer goods soared following the 
price hike [Reuters]

At least 500 people led by pro-democracy activists in Myanmar have held a 
rare protest in Yangon, the country's biggest city, over the government's 
arbitrary increase of fuel prices.

On Wednesday the military government imposed a 100 per cent rise in fuel 
prices at state-owned petrol stations without giving any reason.

Sunday's march led by former student activists of the 88 Generation 
Students' Group began with about 100 people, moving along a major road north 
of Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon.

The protesters did not shout slogans or hold up placards.

The group said the crowd swelled as bystanders joined in before dispersing 
after marching for about nine kilometres.

The protesters, including some former student leaders who have served long 
prison terms, said the authorities watched and videotaped the event but did 
not interfere.

Min Ko Naing, a former student leader, said the protest was "to reflect the 
hardship our people are facing due to the government's fuel price hike".

"Some cars stopped and those inside clapped their hands when they knew that 
we were staging this performance in protest against the fuel price hike," he 
added.

Authorities watched the protest without
interfering, organisers said [APPPB]
The government of Myanmar, formerly Burma, has a monopoly on fuel sales.

The immediate effect of the massive price hike was felt by commuters as bus 
fares increased along with prices of basic consumer goods.

In a statement on Sunday, the Asia Pacific People's Partnership on Burma 
(APPPB) demanded that the government tackle the resulting problem of 
skyrocketing commodity prices and inflation rate.

The APPPB said the increase in the price of natural gas was "not rational" 
given its abundance in the country.

Khin Ohmar, the APPPB co-ordinator, quoted Ktay Kywe, a former student 
leader, as saying that while the majority had to walk, the military elites 
had vehicles that cost between $75,000 and RM250,000.

"These prices are quite shocking while we all are well aware of the dire 
situation of the people of Burma as refugees, internally-displaced peoples, 
migrant labourers etc," Khin Ohmar added.

On Wednesday, some workers at a garment factory in Yangon demanded salary 
raises to meet spiralling transportation and food prices.

Another group of activists said they would stage a protest against the fuel 
price hike if the government fails to scrap it within a week.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/22/ap4045231.html

Associated Press
Fuel Increase Protest Hits Myanmar
By AYE AYE WIN 08.22.07, 4:11 PM ET

YANGON, Myanmar - Hundreds of pro-democracy activists marched Wednesday to 
protest the doubling of fuel prices by Myanmar's military government but 
scattered as junta supporters took at least six away in cars, witnesses 
said.
About 300 protesters walked from the outskirts of the commercial capital 
Yangon, encouraging onlookers to join the rare display of public opposition 
as plainclothes police officers watched from a distance, witnesses said.
"We are marching to highlight the economic hardship that Myanmar people are 
facing now, which has been exacerbated by the fuel price hike," a protester 
who identified herself only as Mimi told onlookers.
The demonstrators were confronted by a group of pro-government supporters 
and the two sides began shouting at one another, witnesses said.
At least six protesters were forced into cars and driven away and the 
remaining demonstrators quickly dispersed, witnesses said on condition of 
anonymity citing fears of reprisals. It was unclear where the six were 
taken.
The protest came a day after 13 activists were detained by Myanmar 
authorities, including leaders of a pro-democracy group that demonstrated 
previously against the fuel-price increases.
They could face up to 20 years in prison, the official media reported.
The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said "agitators" of the 88 
Generation Students group were detained Tuesday night for attempting to 
undermine the "stability and security of the nation."
Members of the 88 Generation Students were at the forefront of the 1988 
pro-democracy uprising and were subjected to lengthy prison terms and 
torture after the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the military.
The 1988 uprising was preceded by public protests over rising rice prices, a 
sudden demonetization and other economic hardships.
The detentions overnight came two days after the group led more than 400 
people in a protest march through Yangon against the doubling of fuel prices 
on Aug. 15.
Those arrested included Min Ko Naing, one of Myanmar's most prominent 
activists, Ko Ko Gyi, Pone Cho, Min Zeya, Zaw Zaw Min and Nyan Lin Tun, the 
newspaper said.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10459416

Pro democracy activists stage rare protest in Myanmar
9:10AM Thursday August 23, 2007
By Andrew Buncombe
Hundreds of demonstrators have defied the military junta in Myanmar to stage 
a rare protest march despite the arrests 13 leading pro-democracy activists.
According to witnesses around 300 people staged an hour-long march before 
being dispersed by gangs of unidentified men - believed to be members of the 
regime-created Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
The march followed a series of midnight raids aimed at confronting growing 
protests over rising fuel prices in the country formerly known as Burma.
Among those arrested were some of the country's most important dissidents.
In a rare public announcement the regime revealed in state-controlled 
newspapers that the activists had been arrested in Rangoon, now named 
Yangon, for seeking to cause "civil unrest and undermining the peace and 
security of the state".
The charges could see the dissidents jailed for up to 20 years.
Campaigners and relatives said that among those arrested were Min Ko Naing, 
Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Mya Aye, Ko Yin Htun and Ko Jimmy, leaders of a 1988 democracy 
movement that was lethally crushed by the regime.
Min Ko Naing, whose name means "Conqueror of Kings" and who was released 
from jail last year by the authorities after spending more than 15 years in 
jail, is probably the best-known activist in the country after Aung San Suu 
Kyi.
She remains under house arrest, having spent the best part of 17 years 
imprisoned.
"Military intelligence and government intelligence seized their houses and 
searched their houses," another dissident, Htay Kywe, who managed to escape 
arrest, told Reuters in a message passed to the news agency from Burmese 
groups in neighbouring Thailand.
Despite the series of arrests, reports from Myanmar said campaigners still 
took to the streets yesterday to protest against the government's recent 
increase in prices of fuel.
Some onlookers applauded the marchers.
Other reports said six campaigners were dragged away by members of the USDA, 
which is often used by the government to intimidate its opponents.
"We are marching to highlight the economic hardship that Burmese people are 
facing now, which has been exacerbated by the fuel price hike," a protester 
who identified herself only as Mimi told onlookers at yesterday's march.
Campaigners said the arrest of the activists displayed the regime's true 
colours.
"The regime has been trying to persuade the international community that it 
has a roadmap to democracy and will reform, but this exposes the raw truth, 
the regime will tolerate no dissent, not even peaceful protest," said Mark 
Farmaner, acting director of the Myanmar Campaign UK.
"The United Nations must set a deadline for genuine reform, including the 
release of all political prisoners.
We have had 19 years of regime lies and 19 years of the international 
community dithering while thousands of Burmese people are arrested, tortured 
and killed." In Washington, the US Campaign for Myanmar said in a statement 
that it was concerned that those arrested could be tortured.
It said: "Min Ko Naing and the other leaders arrested have all been severely 
tortured during previous incarcerations and we are gravely concerned for 
their immediate well-being."
Min Ko Naing's organisation, 88 Generation Students Group, led a march last 
Sunday which sought to connect with public anger about soaring inflation and 
a government-mandated 500 per cent increase in the price of compressed 
natural gas.
The price rise was introduced without warning and brought Yangon's bus 
service to a halt.Myanmar has some of Asia's biggest reserves of natural 
gas.
The arrests came just weeks before the UN Envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, 
is due to visit the country.
He is expected to report back to the United Nations Security Council 
following his visit.
Last month a group of British MPs visited Burmese refugees in Thailand and 
demanded that the UK government increase fourfold its aid budget to the 
country to help those forced from their homes by the regime.
Writing in The Independent John Bercow MP, said: "Myanmar suffers a 
political, human rights and humanitarian situation as grim as any in the 
world today.The country is run by an utterly illegitimate government that 
spends 50 per cent of its budget on the military and less than a 50p per 
head on the health and education of its own citizens."
- INDEPENDENT

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BF9435C8-E002-439D-9EB4-4E875A11758B.htm

Myanmar fuel protests spread

Pro-democracy activists have staged a series of protests since the fuel 
price hike

Pro-democracy activists in Myanmar have staged further protests against 
government fuel price rises in a rare show of defiance against the ruling 
military.

Protests continued to spread beyond the main city of Yangon on Monday, with 
demonstrations in the towns of Bago and Mogok in the north of the country.

Up to 50 protesters wearing white marched through the streets of Bago 
shadowed by plain clothes police and government supporters from the feared 
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), eyewitnesses said.

Members of the USDA broke up a series of protests last week in Yangon, 
beating many protesters with sticks.

Soaring prices

The protests were sparked after the government slashed fuel subsidies, 
causing prices of petrol, diesel and compressed natural gas to soar.

The rise has also caused food and transport prices to skyrocket.

USDA trucks were reported to be taking up positions near the offices of the 
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Yangon, amid reports of 
protests elsewhere in the country.

The party is led by detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Elsewhere in the city, riot police were said to be taking up positions as 
tensions remained high.

Activists arrested

In recent days police have arrested at least 65 activists, including several 
leaders of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement.

Htin Kyaw, one of the main protest organisers, was arrested on Sunday  as he 
and another man shouted anti-government slogans in the centre of Yangon.

Witnesses said both men were beaten as they were dragged away by men in 
civilian clothes.

Most of those arrested are now reportedly being held in Yangon's notorious 
Insein jail.

The jail has long been condemned by human rights groups as a centre of 
torture and abuse.

'Very tense'

"The situation looks very tense," one NLD member told Reuters on Monday.

"Some USDA thugs are believed to have weapons hidden in their bags or in the 
trucks. They are watching out for the movement of the NLD members."

Elsewhere in Myanmar, news also emerged of a fuel protest in Mogok, about 
680 kilometres north of Yangon, in an area famous for gemstone mining.

Mogok residents said more than 200 people, including members of the NLD 
marched through the town on Saturday before dispersing peacefully.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gx8OxCC8FoISXiMqFqtyhdAZOIPQ

Myanmar protesters defy junta with new protest
Aug 22, 2007
YANGON (AFP) - Pro-democracy supporters defied the junta in Myanmar to stage 
their third protest within a week Thursday, underlining what analysts say is 
deepening public anger at crippling economic hardships.
Such public defiance on the streets to a government that deals harshly with 
dissent has not been seen in Myanmar in at least nine years, they said.
The protests were sparked by a massive hike in fuel prices last week, and 
have thrown a global spotlight on the isolated and impoverished country.
About 40 protesters, most of them from the opposition National League for 
Democracy (NLD), were on their way to party headquarters when about 20 
members of the security forces and pro-government militia blocked their 
path.
The protesters tried to resist by forming a human chain on the pavement but 
they were yanked apart, thrown into trucks and carted off.
NLD spokesman Han Zaw said it had not been able to learn anything about the 
fate of the detained activists and called on the junta to free them.
"We urge the government to release the arrested people immediately and 
unconditionally," it said. The NLD also demanded that the regime "explain to 
the public why it suddenly hiked energy prices."
The junta, which keeps a tight grip on the nation's media, usually deals 
harshly with protesters.
About 100 people watched the confrontation in silence near downtown Yangon, 
the main city in the secretive country formerly known as Burma.
The scene was quickly over, but it was the third time in a few days that 
people have dared take on the generals who run the country.
It followed a demonstration Wednesday by about 150 activists -- cheered on 
by bystanders -- who marched through the city in protest at last week's fuel 
price hike, which doubled transport costs overnight.
About 500 people joined a similar march on Sunday to show their anger over 
the raise, which has left many urban workers unable to afford even a bus 
fare to get to their jobs.
Analysts say the junta underestimated how angry the price hike has made the 
public, who have been coping with a moribund economy that critics say has 
been mismanaged by the ruling generals.
"The economy is no longer deteriorating. It's decaying," said Debbie 
Stothard, of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma pressure group, who 
added that residents appeared willing to take greater risks to demand change 
from the government.
"People feel they don't have very much to lose," she said.
Myanmar analyst Win Min said the protests took extraordinary courage after 
1988, when the army opened fire on an uprising and left hundreds, if not 
thousands, dead.
"Now there is a fear that the military might shoot again on the streets," he 
said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for restraint, and for 
talks toward reconciliation over the protests.
The government says 13 people were arrested over the protest on Sunday, 
including some of the nation's most prominent pro-democracy leaders. 
Activists say at least 10 others have been jailed.
Many of those arrested included members of the 88 Generation Students group, 
made up of former student leaders who spearheaded the 1988 pro-democracy 
uprising.
The student leaders were handed long prison sentences but many have been 
released over the last three years, including Min Ko Naing, who is 
considered the nation's most prominent pro-democracy leader after Aung San 
Suu Kyi.
The latest arrest of Min Ko Naing and the other activists has drawn an 
international outcry, with western governments and rights groups demanding 
their release.
"The recent price hikes in Burma make it harder for ordinary people to 
sustain themselves by driving up prices of essential goods and services," 
said Arvind Ganesan of New York-based Human Rights Watch.
"Peaceful protest should not land them in jail," he said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BD616BFE-1062-4BF4-B41D-7186A2847B3D.htm

Police break up Myanmar fuel demo

A previous protest on Wednesday was later broken up by a pro-government mob 
armed with sticks

Police and government supporters in Myanmar have again broken up a rally by 
pro-democracy activists against a recent massive hike in fuel prices.

The rare public protest was the third in less than a week to take place on 
the streets of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, and comes amid rising 
tensions in the country.

Thursday's protest - smaller than previous demonstrations - involved about 
40 pro-democracy activists whose march was blocked by a gang of government 
supporters.

Witnesses said both sides were locked in a tense standoff for about half an 
hour before security forces moved in, detaining ten of the protesters who 
were driven away in a truck.

Activists say there have also been other demonstrations in other cities with 
increased numbers of security personnel deployed on the streets.

Accurate reports from across Myanmar are hard to obtain, but in an email 
statement on Thursday afternoon the Asia-Pacific People's Partnership on 
Burma (APPPB) said it had recieved information that about 2,000 members of 
the security forces had been deployed in the city hall area of central 
Yangon.

The Thailand-based group also said it had received reports of several 
smaller protests being violently broken up.

On Wednesday witnesses said government supporters backed by police used 
sticks to assault about 150 protesters marching against the fuel price 
rises.

Eight protesters accused of being agitators were taken away, but they were 
later freed unharmed.

Pro-democracy groups say at least 10 others have been jailed since.

Silent march

The doubling of fuel prices has led to rare
public protests on the streets of Yangon
Following the fuel price hike announced last week, activists say the cost of 
essential goods and services has skyrocketed.

On Sunday, in what was the largest protest in Yangon in nearly a decade, 
about 400 people joined a silent march against the price rise, led by mostly 
former student leaders from the 1988 democracy uprising.

In the wake of that protest at least 13 leading activists were arrested and 
could face up to 20 years in prison, state-controlled media reported.

Those detained include Ming Ko Naing, the country's second most-prominent 
political figure after Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy icon and Nobel 
Peace Prize winner who remains under house arrest.

"In many places they are patrolling with full equipment. armed with shields 
and guns"
Myint Soe,
National League for Democracy (Liberated Areas)
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Thursday Myint Soe of the National League for 
Democracy (Liberated Areas) said the situation in Yangon remained tense with 
tight security across Yangon.

"In many places they are patrolling with full equipment. armed with shields 
and guns," he told Al Jazeera, speaking from Thailand.

Myint Soe said another three people were arrested on Wednesday afternoon but 
could not confirm their location.

Leaders of the 88 Generation Students were at the forefront of a 
pro-democracy uprising in 1988 which was suppressed by the military.

Most were subjected to lengthy prison terms and torture after the uprising.

The 1988 uprising was preceded by public protests over rising rice prices, a 
sudden government declaration that made most currency invalid, and other 
economic hardships.

Call for release

Activists have vowed to continue their
protests despite the crackdown
Mie Mie, a member of the 88 Generation group who remains on the run, said 
they "will not fear any arrest or threat" and vowed to continue protests 
against the fuel price rises despite the arrest of leading activists.

The crackdown in Myanmar has sparked an angry reaction from several Western 
governments calling for the immediate release of all detained activists.

Gonzo Gallegos, a US State Department spokesman, urged Myanmar to engage in 
"meaningful dialogue" with pro-democracy leaders and ethnic minority groups, 
and to take "tangible steps toward a transition to civilian democracy rule".

Speaking in Washington he called for "an end to the regime's blatant attempt 
to intimidate and silence those who are engaged in peaceful promotion of 
democracy and human rights in Burma".

In Paris the French foreign ministry said it was concerned by the use of 
force by "pro-government militias" against the protesters in Yangon.

And in Canada Maxine Bernier, the country's foreign minister, said the 
arrests were another example of the Myanmar authorities' "continued 
disregard for freedom and democracy".

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/23/asia/AS-GEN-Myanmar-Arrests.php

Myanmar strong-arms demonstrators in effort to tame fuel price protests

The Associated PressPublished: August 22, 2007

YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar's military government, seeking to tame continuing 
street protests against fuel price increases, strong-armed demonstrators for 
a second day Thursday as they marched peacefully through the streets of the 
country's main city, Yangon.
The defiant protesters, many of them supporters of opposition leader Aung 
San Suu Kyi, marched Thursday for the third time this week to protest the 
ruling junta's doubling of fuel prices last week in the impoverished 
country.
Plainclothes security personnel and tough-looking civilians stopped about 40 
people, mostly from Suu Kyi's party, as they walked quietly for 3 kilometers 
(2 miles) toward their party headquarters in eastern Yangon.
Authorities ordered bystanders, and especially reporters, out of the area as 
the protesters - outnumbered by about three-to-one - were overwhelmed after 
a 30-minute standoff.
Protesters sat on the pavement and formed a human chain in an attempt to 
prevent officers from forcing them into waiting trucks and buses. A dozen 
protesters, however, were dragged and shoved into the vehicles, where some 
were slapped around, said witnesses, who asked not to be named for fear of 
being called in by the police.

Reporters were also roughed up by security personnel, who shouted abusive 
language and warned that they would also be their targets.
The number of protesters decreased from Wednesday, when about 300 people 
marched to protest the fuel hikes despite the arrests of 13 top activists 
who helped organize the rally. Several hundred people had staged a similar 
protest on Sunday.
Wednesday's march was broken up when a gang of government supporters 
assaulted some protesters with sticks and seized eight who were accused of 
being agitators, witnesses and participants said. The eight were later freed 
unharmed after interrogation by authorities.
"Unable to bear the burden of spiraling consumer prices, the public express 
their sentiments through peaceful means. However, the authorities have 
arrested, tortured, beaten up and endangered the lives of those who are 
peacefully expressing their dissatisfaction," Suu Kyi's National League for 
Democracy party said in a statement Thursday.
U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the U.S. believes 
"it's important for the government there to begin to speak to other groups, 
to draw on the ethnic minorities, to deal with the other political parties 
to proceed down a path of democracy and respect of individuals and human 
rights."
It was economic dissatisfaction that sparked the country's last major 
upheaval in 1988, when mass street demonstrations broke out seeking an end 
to military rule that began in 1962. The protests were violently subdued by 
the army, which held a general election in 1990 but refused to honor the 
results when it was won by Suu Kyi's party.
The current protests are nowhere near the scale of the 1988 events, but the 
junta appeared to be taking no chances.
It seemed that the pro-government civilians, whose exact affiliation could 
not be ascertained, were being employed to quash protests. Three or four 
trucks carrying dozens of such men were parked near Yangon's City Hall, 
where it had been rumored more protests would take place.
It has been a government tactic in the past to use members of the Union 
Solidarity and Development Association - ostensibly a social welfare 
organization, but closely linked to the junta - to assault and intimidate 
the junta's opponents.
The USDA was linked to attacks against Suu Kyi and her party supporters in 
Yangon in 1997, and in northern Myanmar on May 30, 2003. The latter clash 
led to her detention, which the military said was for her own protection.
Wednesday's demonstration came shortly after the arrests of leaders of the 
88 Generation Students group, which has been boldly staging petition 
campaigns, prayer vigils and other nonviolent activities to free political 
prisoners and promote a return to democracy.
State-controlled media reported Wednesday that 13 leading members of the 
group had been arrested Tuesday night and could face up to 20 years in 
prison.
Members of the 88 Generation Students still at large issued a statement 
calling for the release of their leaders and demanding that the junta solve 
the country's economic and political problems.
The group called on Buddhist monks, the people and students to join their 
movement. Monks and students have been in the forefront of past social and 
political protests, against both British colonialism and military rule.
Leaders of the 88 Generation Students helped lead the 1988 pro-democracy 
uprising and were subjected to lengthy prison terms and torture after the 
rebellion was suppressed.
The 1988 uprising was preceded by public protests over rising rice prices, a 
sudden government declaration that made most currency invalid, and other 
economic hardships.
Myanmar's junta has been widely criticized for human rights violations, 
including the 11-year house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi.
Also Thursday, a former political prisoner staged an apparently solo protest 
outside the U.S. Embassy before being hauled away by plainclothes officers.
Ohn Than was holding a sign calling for U.N. intervention to make the 
government convene parliament, said witnesses. He had served two years in 
prison for taking part in a protest in front of a U.N. office in 2004, and 
had been temporarily detained at least twice this year for taking part in 
further protests.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BA2FF2A0-F652-4DEB-84A8-6AFF3978AE07.htm

Myanmar protesters defy arrests

Protests have been sparked by a 100 per
cent rise in the price of fuel [APPPB]

Hundreds of pro-democracy activists in Myanmar have defied a government 
crackdown and returned to the streets of the former capital, Yangon, to 
protest against a massive fuel price hike.

Witnesses said about 300 people took part in Wednesday's demonstrations and 
there have been reports of clashes with pro-government groups.

The demonstration came after opposition groups and state media reported that 
13 people had been arrested on Tuesday for leading similar protests earlier 
this week.

At least another six people were reportedly arrested during Wednesday's 
march in Yangon.

In a rare public comment, the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said 
the activists held on Tuesday were arrested for "undermining stability and 
security of the nation".

"Their agitation to cause civil unrest was aimed at undermining peace and 
security of the state"
New Light of Myanmar newspaper
No details were given of the alleged offences but those detained could face 
up to 20 years in prison.

"Their agitation to cause civil unrest was aimed at undermining peace and 
security of the state and disrupting the ongoing National Convention," the 
newspaper said.

The convention is currently drafting the country's constitution as part of 
what the military government says is a seven-point roadmap to restoring 
democracy in Myanmar.

Critics have dismissed the process as a sham.

Security in Yangon and Mandalay, the country's second largest city, has been 
tightened.

Uprising

"People are facing a lot of difficulties and they want to do something, but 
they are afraid of being beaten to death or arrested"
Ko Bo Kyi, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Among those arrested are prominent former student leaders, all from the 88 
Generation Students movement - a group which was at the forefront of the 
1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Most were reportedly tortured and given lengthy jail terms after the 
uprising was suppressed by the military.

In a recorded statement released to Al Jazeera, another of 88 Generation 
leaders, Htay Kywe, who is now in hiding from the authorities, gave an 
acount of the recent arrest of his friends.

"Last night the military intelligence and government intelligence seized 
their house and sacked their house for no detailed reason," he said.

"They seized some papers and some material from that house and also many 
mobile phones were seized."

Prices skyrocket

In some cases the price of food has more than
doubled as a result of the fuel hike [EPA]
On Sunday activists and former student leaders led more than 400 people in a 
silent march through Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, after the government 
arbitrarily increased fuel prices by 100 per cent.

Following the price hike, the overall cost of essential goods and services 
has skyrocketed, and in some cases prices have more than doubled, activists 
say.

Ko Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political 
Prisoners based in Thailand, said at least nine of the detained activists 
were taken from their homes late on Tuesday.

"From what we know, they are being held at the Kyaik Ka San detention center 
outside Yangon," he told Al Jazeera. "We don't have all their names but I 
expect more to be arrested."

He said some activists have gone into hiding but the rest will continue 
their activities, including trying to organise a second silent march.

Ko Bo Kyi said security was very tight in Yangon.

"The situation is very bad here. I'm really worried that some activists 
might be beaten or detained," he said.

"People are facing a lot of difficulties and they want to do something, but 
they are afraid of being beaten to death or arrested."

He added, "Now people have to use half of their income for bus fares and 
students are badly affected because many of the universities are located 
outside of town."

Students arrested

According to US-based activist group, Myanmar authorities had also arrested 
a number of students.

The US Campaign for Burma, based in Washington, said five university 
students and three members of another activist group were arrested in 
separate sweeps.

Reports in government newspapers made no mention of these arrests.

The US group said three members of the Myanmar Development Committee, which 
had called for a nationwide protest against the fuel price hike, were also 
arrested along with the five students.

The Myanmar Development Committee has vowed to go ahead with the protests on 
Wednesday despite the arrests.

Pro-democracy groups in Myanmar have also appealed for support and urgent 
action from civil society organisations based on the Thai border and the 
international community.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2007/08/26/2003375849

Myanmar detains 65 activists after protest

AP, YANGON, MYANMAR
Sunday, Aug 26, 2007, Page 1
Myanmar's junta has detained at least 65 activists who protested fuel-price 
hikes, a state-controlled newspaper and witnesses reported, including two 
arrested yesterday as they were about to launch a fresh demonstration.
The New Light of Myanmar said 13 of those arrested on Tuesday from the 
prominent pro-democracy 88 Generation Students group "are being 
interrogated" for allegedly undermining the government, colluding with 
insurgent groups and harming the community peace. If charged, the activists 
face up to 20 years in jail.
Members of the 88 Generation Students were at the forefront of a 
pro-democracy uprising in 1988 and were imprisoned and tortured after the 
military brutally suppressed the rebellion.
Of the more than 50 others, witnesses said two were arrested yesterday as 
they were about to hold a protest at a busy intersection in the country's 
largest city, Yangon.
One of those arrested yesterday was Htin Kyaw, the 44-year-old leader of the 
pro-democracy group Myanmar Development Committee. He has repeatedly been 
arrested in the past for organizing protests over the country's dire 
economy, most recently in April.
Of the more than 50 others, the newspaper said eight people were arrested in 
the country's largest city Yangon as they marched in an anti-government 
protest on Wednesday. The rest were picked up in the same city on Thursday 
and Friday ahead of other planned rallies.
People in impoverished Myanmar are angry at the military government's 
decision to double fuel prices at state-owned gas stations earlier this 
month.
Yangon was quiet yesterday, with pro-junta supporters and plain-clothes 
police deployed throughout the city to prevent further protests. Trucks 
stood ready to take demonstrators away.
Nyan Win, a spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy 
party, said yesterday the eight demonstrators detained on Wednesday had been 
released, but that the fate of the others was unknown.
Peaceful protests have been taking place since last Sunday, mainly in 
Yangon. No new protests were reported early yesterday.
The junta quickly broke up burgeoning protests on Friday, but the defiant 
demonstrators could claim a partial victory after the government ordered 
some bus companies to lower fares that were raised because of the higher 
fuel prices.
Myanmar's ruling junta has been widely criticized for human rights 
violations, including the extended detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu 
Kyi and more than 1,200 other political prisoners.
The US, France, Britain and several international human rights groups have 
called on the junta to ease its repressive activities and free political 
prisoners.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar's government to exercise 
restraint in its response to the demonstrations.
Economic frustration sparked the country's last major upheaval in 1988 when 
mass demonstrations broke out seeking an end to the military rule that began 
in 1962.
The protests were violently subdued with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of 
people killed.
The current protests are nowhere near the scale of the 1988 events, but the 
junta appeared to be taking no chances in trying to clamp down on the 
protests.
The military rulers held a general election in 1990, but refused to honor 
the results when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won in a 
landslide.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4035F402-035F-495D-B9E7-1B61D9A0AACC.htm

Myanmar arrests dozens over protest

Myanmar has been ruled by the military
for 45 years [AFP]

Dozens of pro-democracy supporters have been arrested as activists tried to 
launch a new protest in military-ruled Myanmar against a sharp rise in fuel 
prices, witnesses said.

About 50 activists had gathered near a bus stop close to the former campus 
of Yangon University on the north side of Myanmar's main city on Tuesday.

Protesters chanted "Lower fuel prices, lower commodity prices!" as they 
walked along a main road.

But witnesses said plainclothes police and government supporters from the 
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) arrived within 10 
minutes and broke up the group.

Opposition

About 200 people were reported to have gathered to watch the standoff 
between the protesters and the security forces.

The march was led by Su Su Nway, a labour activist sent to prison in October 
2005 for more than seven months after reporting cases of forced labour to 
the United Nations.

Some witnesses said she was among those hauled off by security forces, but 
others said she had managed to slip away.

Su Su Nway is a member of the opposition National League for Democracy 
(NLD), but party officials did not immediately have details on the arrests.

The protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations against the 
military, which for 45 years has ruled Myanmar.

The government sparked public anger when it hiked fuel prices by as much as 
five-fold on August 15.

Spreading

Protests against fuel prices spread to the northwest city of Sittwe on 
Tuesday, where 300 people, including Buddhist monks, staged a march, Reuters 
news service said.

A local source in Sittwe said the march, which for the first time included 
monks, lasted at least an hour down a road in the centre of the city.

For the last 10 days, pro-democracy supporters across the country have 
defied official threats and a clampdown on dissent to stage small rallies 
against the fuel price increase.

State media said 56 people had been arrested over last week's protests, but 
Thailand-based political dissidents on Monday said it was at least 100.

Among those held last week was Min Ko Naing, who is considered Myanmar's 
most prominent pro-democracy advocate after detained opposition leader and 
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKBKK16268020070823

Pro-junta gang breaks up Myanmar protest march
Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:06AM BST
By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - A gang of supporters of Myanmar's military rulers broke 
up a small protest march in Yangon on Thursday as the arrest of 13 top 
dissidents did little to quash public anger at soaring fuel prices and 
falling living standards.
A tense stand-off ensued before the marchers, who had been walking towards 
the offices of the opposition National League for Democracy, were manhandled 
into trucks belonging to the junta's feared Union Solidarity and Development 
Association
(USDA).
A Reuters reporter at the scene was told not to take photographs.
There was no word in the army-controlled media on the fate of the 13 
dissidents arrested on Wednesday night, who included Min Ko Naing, the 
former Burma's second-most prominent political activist after detained Nobel 
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Five women and a man picked up by the USDA after a small demonstration on 
Wednesday in north Yangon were released.
For a second day, armed police and truckloads of USDA men armed with spades 
and brooms took up positions in the centre of the former capital.
However, in an apparent sop to the widespread public anger at last week's 
shock fuel price rises, bus fares for the shortest journeys were halved.
The junta's doubling of diesel prices and a five-fold increase in the cost 
of compressed natural gas had brought Yangon's bus networks to a standstill 
and stoked discontent in the city of 5 million people.
Analysts said the hard core of the dissident movement, which centres on the 
still-influential leaders of a 1988 mass student uprising ruthlessly 
suppressed by the army, would continue to express public discontent.
However, the junta's coordinated action on Wednesday, starting with midnight 
swoops on the student leaders, had probably ensured the series of small but 
persistent social protests did not snowball into something larger.
"These people have vowed to continue the struggle at all costs. They have 
vowed to go all the way, and so for sure they will continue to protest," 
said Aung Naing Oo, a 1988 protester who fled to Thailand to escape the 
bloody military crackdown.
"But I doubt a large majority of people will participate. Small gatherings 
of 100 here, 200 there, will go on but the emphasis is on the word small," 
he said.
The world's largest rice exporter when it won independence from Britain in 
1948, Myanmar is now one of Asia's poorest countries after more than four 
decades of unbroken military rule.
Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, won a landslide election 
victory at the helm of her National League for Democracy party in 1990, only 
to be denied power by the army.
She has spent most of the 17 years since in prison or under house arrest.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3534482

New Myanmar Protest Quashed in Minutes
Supporters of Myanmar Military Junta Quickly Break Up Demonstration Against 
Price Increases
 man is detained by men in civilian cloths during a protest in Yangon on 
August 28, 2007. Defiant protests in military-ruled Myanmar against soaring 
fuel prices spread to the oil-producing northwest on Tuesday, where 300 
people, including Buddhist monks, staged a protest march in Sittwe, a local 
source said. In Yangon, around 30 people staged a march through the north of 
the city, before stopped by men in civilian clothes, witnesses said. Five 
people were taken away. Picture taken on August 28, 2007. (Democratic Voice 
of Burma/Reuters)
The Associated Press
YANGON, Myanmar Aug 28, 2007 (AP)
Demonstrators on Tuesday tried to mount a new protest against rising prices, 
but marched only 30 yards before being beaten and wrestled into waiting 
trucks by civilians who back Myanmar's military government, witnesses said.
The two dozen protesters shouted slogans against a big fuel price hike and 
implored onlookers to join them, stressing they were marching peacefully for 
their rights, said witnesses, who asked not to be quoted by name for fear of 
reprisals from the regime.
The marchers were quickly set upon by pro-government toughs, who pummeled 
demonstrators with fists while dragging them into trucks, the witnesses 
said. At least one protester was reportedly dragged by his feet.
A prominent labor activist and former political prisoner, Su Su Nway, took 
part in the protest, but said she managed to escape in a taxi with several 
colleagues.
"Peaceful protests are brutally cracked down upon and I want to tell the 
international community that there is no rule of law in Myanmar," she told 
The Associated Press.
More than a dozen of the country's leading democracy activists, members of 
the 88 Generation Students group, were detained Aug. 21 before a similar 
demonstration.
Myanmar activists in exile claimed 200-300 people, including many Buddhist 
monks, took part in another protest Tuesday in Sittwe, the capital of 
Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
A report on the Web site of the Democratic Voice of Burma, an opposition 
shortwave radio station based in Norway, said witnesses reported the protest 
lasted for at least an hour without interference.
Protests triggered by fuel price hikes began Aug. 19 and have continued on 
an almost daily basis despite a security clampdown by the military 
government supported by organized bands of civilian toughs serving as law 
enforcers.
Myanmar's ruling junta, which has received widespread international 
criticism for violating the human rights of its citizens, tolerates little 
public dissent.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C08%5C29%5Cstory_29-8-2007_pg4_13

Dozens detained over new protest in Myanmar
* Protestors clamouring for lower fuel prices g ASEAN voices concern over 
unrest

YANGON: Dozens of pro-democracy supporters were detained Tuesday after a top 
labour activist tried to launch a new protest in Yangon against a sharp rise 
in fuel prices, witnesses said.

About 50 activists had gathered near a bus stop close to the former campus 
of Yangon University on the north side of Myanmar's main city, but 
plainclothes police and pro-junta militia broke up the group after only 10 
minutes, witnesses said. Protesters chanted "Lower fuel prices, lower 
commodity prices!" as they walked along a main road.

About 200 people gathered to watch the standoff between the protesters and 
the security forces, witnesses said. The march was led by Su Su Nway, a 
labour activist sent to prison in October 2005 for more than seven months 
after reporting cases of forced labour to the United Nations. Some witnesses 
said she was among those hauled off by security forces, but others said she 
had managed to slip away. Calls to her cell phone went unanswered.

Su Su Nway is a member of the opposition National League for Democracy 
(NLD), but party officials did not immediately have details on the arrests. 
The protest was the latest in a series of bold demonstrations against the 
military, which for 45 years has ruled impoverished Myanmar with an iron 
fist and kept a tight lid on dissent. But the junta sparked public anger 
when the government secretly hiked key fuel prices by as much as five-fold 
on August 15.

That immediately doubled the cost of transport, which left many people 
unable to even afford the bus fare to get to work. For the last 10 days, 
pro-democracy supporters have defied official threats and a clampdown on 
dissent to stage small rallies against the fuel price increase.State media 
said 56 people had been arrested over last week's protests, but 
Thailand-based political dissidents on Monday said it was at least 100.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) voiced concern over 
unrest in Myanmar on Tuesday, its first comments after soaring fuel prices 
prompted rare public protests in the military-ruled nation. But ASEAN, 
several of whose 10 members consider the excesses of Myanmar's military 
regime to have cast all of Southeast Asia in a bad light, will stop short of 
sending an envoy to Yangon to express its concern, Secretary-General Ong 
Keng Yong said.

"What we have done is to make our views known in a certain way, maybe it is 
not the high-profile way where we send a special envoy to go to Yangon, or 
to the new capital, to make a case," he told reporters in the Malaysian 
capital. "But we have learnt through the last 10 years the way to work with 
Myanmar is to present a logical and good ASEAN position and they will find a 
way to answer our queries."

Junta hiring thugs: Rather than stir up memories of their bloody 1988 
crackdown by putting troops on the streets, Myanmar's junta is relying on 
gangs of paid thugs and criminals armed with brooms and spades to crush a 
rare outbreak of dissent. Accurately predicting public anger at this month's 
shock fuel price rises, the rulers of the former Burma released hundreds - 
maybe thousands - of prisoners to clear the decks for mass arrests, 
diplomats and exiled dissidents said on Tuesday.

Happily for the generals, those booted out of Yangon's fetid cells also made 
perfect recruits for the shadowy Swan Aah Shin, or "capable strong person", 
organisation which has emerged as the junta's main weapon against 
protesters. "It's an underground organisation and I don't know who would 
admit to it existing, but it exists and it exists in force, and it has been 
evident over the last week," said one diplomat who watched the Swan Aah Shin 
in action on the streets of Yangon. agencies

http://newsbox.msn.co.uk/article.aspx?as=adimarticle&f=uk_-_olgbtopnews&t=4023&id=6306363&d=20070903&do=http://newsbox.msn.co.uk&i=http://newsbox.msn.co.uk/mediaexportlive&ks=0&mc=5&ml=ma&lc=en&ae=windows-1252

2/9/2007 5:05:16 PM
( Source: Reuters)


Brown calls on Myanmar to free protesters
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown slammed on Sunday Myanmar's 
crackdown on dissidents and demanded the release of those held after street 
protests against fuel price rises.
More than 100 people have been arrested in recent days as the dissent 
provoked one of the most far-reaching crackdowns in the former Burma since 
1988.
"I deeply deplore the Burmese government's violent suppression of peaceful 
demonstrations," Brown said in a statement.
"I call upon the Burmese authorities to release immediately all those 
detained merely for protesting at the hardship imposed on them by the 
government's economic mismanagement and failure to uphold fundamental human 
rights," he said.
He called for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Prize 
winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
He urged countries and organisations with influence over the Myanmar 
authorities to "impress upon the generals the need for an early transition 
to democratic rule, full respect for human rights and genuine national 
reconciliation.
Brown backed calls for the United Nations' Security Council to examine the 
situation in Myanmar as soon as possible. He said he planned to raise the 
Myanmar situation with key countries in the region and with the European 
Union and United States.
U.S. President George W. Bush has already criticised Myanmar's military 
junta for arresting dissidents who participated in the recent protests.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EE46611F-E8B8-4E00-9E34-8976D2279650.htm

Myanmar detainees on hunger strike

A group of pro-democracy demonstrators detained after protests last week in 
military-ruled Myanmar have launched a hunger strike, activists said.

They are reportedly demanding medical treatment for a colleague who broke 
his leg when police and pro-government militia broke up a protest in Yangon 
and arrested up to 20 people on Tuesday.

"Some of the people arrested with him started a hunger strike this evening 
because their colleague Ye Thein Naing hasn't received any medical treatment 
for his broken leg," one activist told AFP news agency on condition on 
anonymity on Thursday.

Ye Thein Naing and an unknown number of other protesters are being held at 
an improvised detention centre at the city's Kyaikkasan sports grounds, he 
said.

At least 100 people have been arrested since a series of anti-government 
rallies began on August 19 in protest at a huge increase in fuel prices, 
according to activists.

Myanmar has been rule by a military government for 45 years and displays of 
dissent are rare.

Activist 'beaten'

"Ye Thein Naing was beaten and thrown onto a waiting truck by militia," said 
one activist who was at the protest.

"His leg was broken at that time, when he was beaten up. Even then, they 
still kept kicking him on the truck."

"We have
only pens
and books.
I do not understand why they treat us like rebels"

Su Su Nway,
pro-democracy
and labour activist
Like many of the protesters, Ye Thein Naing is a member of the opposition 
National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel 
peace prize winner who is currently under house arrest.

Su Su Nway, another NLD member and labour activist who led the march on 
Tuesday, said that she and other leaders of the protest  movement have gone 
into hiding to avoid arrest.

"I heard the authorities have been watching my house all the time, waiting 
to arrest me," she said.

"We have only pens and books. I do not understand why they treat us like 
rebels.

"We are just making a statement on behalf of the people, including 
government staffers. We are sacrificing our young lives. I want the 
authorities to understand that."

The NLD won a landslide victory in general elections in 1990 elections, but 
the military has never recognised the result.

Economic hardships

Meanwhile, a small rally of mostly NLD members was staged in the small town 
of Kyaukpadaung, located in a rural part of central Myanmar, activists said.

The protesters were jeered by supporters of the military government, and 
leaders were ushered into a meeting with the township chairman, who advised 
them of a ban on gatherings of more than five people before letting them go.

"We told the [chairman] that we are marching to express the economic 
hardship due to the fuel price hike and also demanded that all political 
prisoners be released," Myint Lwin, one of the protesters, said.

"We are peacefully expressing our civil rights."