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100 000 defy Myanmar junta
25/09/2007 12:03 - (SA)
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| Buddhist monks march in protest against the military government in Yangon, Myanmar. (Mizzima News, AP) |
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Yangon - About 100 000 people, led by Buddhist monks, defied Myanmar's junta on Tuesday to stage an anti-government protest in downtown Yangon, witnesses said.
No security forces were visible despite stiff warnings from the government and military earlier not to gather.
About 30 000 monks led an estimated 70 000 supporters in a march into the centre of Myanmar's commercial hub where they gathered around the golden Sule Pagoda and the nearby city hall, witnesses said.
While monks prayed and chanted around the pagoda, their supporters took a small microphone to the sidewalk outside city hall to deliver speeches to the crowd.
"National reconciliation is very important for us. People and monks are gathering here, and the monks are standing up for the people," famed poet Aung Way told the crowd.
Some of the monks held small banners that read: "Sufficiency in food, clothing and shelter, national reconciliation, freedom for all political prisoners."
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