By Xinhua
Yangon : The demonstration by Buddhist monks in this Myanmarese capital Monday afternoon swelled, with over 10,000 staging protest march.
Setting out in batches from the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, the monks, joined by massive crowds of young civilians, marched peacefully through the city.
It was the biggest march by monks since Sep 18 in Yangon.
Chanting prayers for peace, the demonstrators held placards demanding price control and national reconciliation among others. The demonstrators dispersed peacefully in the evening.
So far, the authorities have not intervened but remained highly alert.
Since Sep 18, hundreds of Buddhist monks have taken to the streets in Yangon, chanting prayers and reciting from scripture to protest the authorities’ failure to comply with the monks’ four demands, including for an apology by the junta over the Pakokku incident.
The demands also included bringing down of commodity prices, release of political prisoners, and sponsoring of a dialogue to settle the internal crisis.
The widespread demonstrations in Yangon and other parts of the country were triggered by an incident in Magway division’s Pakokku on Sep 5 and 6, in which some monks were allegedly insulted during a demonstration against the steep hike in fuel price. The demonstrators withdrew after security forces fired warning shots in the air.
That incident resulted in the protesters torching four cars owned by local authorities and smashing two houses of departmental officials.
On Sep 18, hundreds of Buddhist monks staged protest walks in Sittway in western Rakhine state, which eventually turned violent. The authorities fired warning shots and lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse the rally. The authorities said a departmental official and nine policemen were injured in the incident.
Similar protest walks by monks over the past week were also reported from Mandalay, Bago, Yenangyaung, Chauk, Kyaukpadaung, Sittway, Aunglan, Labutta. Saturday’s demonstration by the monks in Mandalay involved some thousands, reports said.