We will not be silenced
AYE AYE WIN IN RANGOON
HUNDREDS of demonstrators directly challenged Burma's military junta yesterday by taking to the streets in protest at massive increases in the price of fuel.
The march went ahead despite the arrest of at least 13 leading pro-democracy activists in overnight raids.
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About 300 walked from the northern outskirts of the commercial capital, Rangoon, encouraging onlookers to join their display of public opposition. A number of protesters were dragged away by government supporters, thought to be members of the feared Union Solidarity and Development Association, many of whom had been carrying brooms and shovels as they pretended to be roadsweepers.
Armed police took up positions in the city and the demonstration ended abruptly. Another planned protest was snuffed out before it began.
However, for a short time, Burma witnessed a rare public display of dissent. There was a tense atmosphere in Rangoon and many parents kept their children away from school, fearing widespread trouble.
One protester, who identified herself only as Mie Mie, told onlookers: "We are marching to highlight the economic hardship that Myanmar [Burma] people are facing now, which has been exacerbated by the fuel price hike."
The protest came after the arrest of leaders of the "88 Generation Students" group, who have been defying the junta's grip by spearheading petition campaigns, prayer vigils and other actions to free political prisoners - including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi - and promote a return to democracy.
"Though our leaders have been arrested, we will continue with our movement. We will not fear any arrest or threat," Mie Mie, a member of the 88 Generation group, said.
The protesters cut short their march and dispersed after unidentified men from a mob of government supporters attacked demonstrators with sticks and took at least eight of them away in cars. They were taken to a state security office, accused of agitating the crowd and held for several hours for questioning before being released, one of them said.
A planned afternoon protest in central Rangoon was halted after plainclothes security men seized at least three activists before hustling them away in waiting buses. Some of those arrested had been carrying placards.
The state-controlled media reported that leading members of the 88 Generation Students - the most active, non-violent dissident group - had been arrested and could face up to 20 years in prison. The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said "agitators" had been detained on Tuesday night for attempting to undermine the "stability and security of the nation".
Those arrested included Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, two of the country's most prominent activists. Min Ko Naing, whose name means "Conqueror of Kings", spent 16 years in prison, despite international calls for his release and numerous awards for his non-violent calls for democracy in Burma, which is called Myanmar by the junta.
"Their agitation to cause civil unrest was aimed at undermining peace and security of the state," the newspaper said.
The 88 Generation group's leaders were at the forefront of a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 and were subjected to lengthy prison terms and torture after the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the military.
That uprising was preceded by public protests over rising rice prices, a sudden declaration that made most currency invalid and a host of other economic hardships.
Burma's junta has been widely criticised for human rights violations, including the 11-year house arrest of Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi. The country has been under military control since 1962.
HARMLESS-SOUNDING BUT WITH VIOLENT LINKS
BURMA'S military junta created the harmless-sounding Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in 1993, ostensibly as a social welfare organisation.
However, it appears to be used mainly to attack political opponents and clamp down on dissent without implicating the government.
Those who broke up yesterday's protest could not immediately be identified, but it has become a common tactic for the USDA in such situations. The association claims to have more than 20 million members, which is more than a third of the country's population.
Public servants and local officials especially come under heavy pressure to join.
The USDA has been linked to attacks against Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party supporters in 1997, as well as a bloody assault on the party leader and her backers in 2003.
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