Thousands Of Monks Protest Against Burma's Military Government

Mayur Pahilajani - AHN News Writer

Myanmar, Burma (AHN) - More than two thousand Buddhist monks marched through the streets in Myanmar on Saturday, the sixth day of anti-military government protests. The demonstrators marched and prayed in rain as they sought to continue their protests until the military regime collapses.

Protests were taking place in almost seven different towns across Burma including Mandalay and Rangoon where large number of monks had gathered to participate in the rally.

According to reports, one of the main reasons of the protest was the sudden doubling of fuel prices last month.

Additionally, an underground Buddhist group, The Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks, showing their support for the protest, has called for nationwide prayer vigils. "We ask every citizen to join our vigils," a spokesman from the Buddhist group told AFP.

The vigil will begin Sunday and continue for three days for 15 minutes at 8:00 p.m. each night, the spokesman told AFP. The citizens were asked to stand outside their homes to pray during the vigil.

Burma's ruler cannot stand against the monks publicly because of fear it will enrage the citizens, according to BBC News.

Win Min, a Thai-based Myanmar analyst, said to AFP, "Monks are representing people's sufferings. They want the junta to address economic issues. [And] the anti-junta movement is certainly gaining momentum because the sheer number of monks has risen sharply over the past week."

Moreover, no signs of violence were reported. The organizers of the demonstration were determined to continue their protests peacefully, reports say.