Thursday, 27. September 2007, 21:20:04
Further casualties reported in protests
Sep 27, 2007 (DVB)–Further casualties have been reported as security forces continue their crackdown on the demonstrations in Rangoon.
Protestors came under fire on Thamada road, where one university student was shot in the forehead and died on the spot. A monk at the same location was shot in the back and wounded, and a youth was also shot and wounded.
A foreign national is said to have been shot on Sule pagoda road, a block away from Traders Hotel.
There are continued reports of gunfire at Pansodan bridge, but no information as yet on any casualties.
Reporting by DVB
Burmahttp://www.dvb.no/Q&A: Protests in Burma As demonstrations in Burma continue to gather pace, the BBC looks at what triggered the protests, who is involved and what they could mean for the country's military leaders.
What sparked the protests?
On 15 August the government decided to increase the price of fuel. Both petrol and diesel doubled in price, while the cost of compressed gas - used to power buses - increased five-fold.
The hikes hit Burma's people hard, forcing up the price of public transport and triggering a knock-on effect for staples such as rice and cooking oil.
Burmese people are angry about the sudden fuel price increase
Pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstrations in Burma's main city, Rangoon. When about 400 people marched on 19 August, it was the largest demonstration in the military-ruled nation for several years.
The authorities moved swiftly to quell the protests, rapidly arresting dozens of activists. Nonetheless, protests continued around the country. Numbers were small, but demonstrations were held in Rangoon, Sittwe and other towns.
Why are monks involved?
The monks started participating in large numbers after troops used force to break up a peaceful rally in the central town of Pakokku on 5 September.
At least three monks were hurt. The next day, monks in Pakokku briefly took government officials hostage. They gave the government until 17 September to apologise, but no apology was forthcoming.
When the deadline expired, the monks began to protest in much greater numbers and also withdrew their religious services from the military and their families.
There have been protests every day since the deadline, both in Rangoon and elsewhere, and they are getting bigger by the day. Tens of thousands of monks are now involved.
More and more Buddhist monks have been joining the marches
The participation of the monks is significant because there are hundreds of thousands of them and they are highly revered. The clergy has historically been prominent in political protests in Burma.
Because of the clergy's influence, the government has tried hard to woo many senior abbots. The fact that these abbots have chosen to remain silent is a sign for many people that they condone the protests.
Analysts believe that any violence against the monks could trigger a national uprising.
What has the government done about it?
At first, the country's military leaders held back, letting the protests continue.
But on Monday they said they were ready to "take action".
By late Tuesday, troops and riot police began to arrive in Rangoon, and a dawn-to-dusk curfew was introduced.
On Wednesday violence broke out at the Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon's holiest shrine, as police used baton charges and tear gas to try to stop monks embarking on a ninth day of protests.
Further clases are being reported on Thursday.
Are the protests still about an apology?
For some of the monks, yes. But for others, it has now gone far beyond that.
A group called the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks has emerged to co-ordinate the protests, and on 21 September it issued a statement describing the military government as "the enemy of the people".
They pledged to continue their protests until they had "wiped the military dictatorship from the land of Burma", and they have called on people across Burma to join them.
One rally marched past the house of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, clearly linking the monks' movement with a desire for a change of government.
Are others joining in?
In the initial days of the protests, the public did not appear to be involved - commentators suggested that they were too scared of retaliation.
But this has gradually changed as the demonstrations have grown in size.
Footage of one protest showed people lining the route as the monks marched, forming a chain to protect them from any retaliation from soldiers.
Aung San Suu Kyi was able to greet the monks over the weekend
And on 24 September, thousands of people responded to a call from the monks and joined a massive protest in Rangoon.
Key members of the opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) are now said to be joining the protests, after initially distancing themselves from the action.
When did Burma last see protests like these?
The last time Burma saw anything on this scale was during the popular uprising of August 1988.
These protests were triggered by the government's decision in 1987 to devalue the currency, wiping out many people's savings.
Demonstrations began among students and then gradually spread to monks and the public. These culminated in a national uprising on 8 August 1988, when hundreds of thousands of people marched to demand a change of government.
The government sent troops to brutally suppress the protests. At least 3,000 people are believed to have died.
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