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Monks Protest in All Over Burma
- Subject: Monks Protest in All Over Burma
- From: waterly@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 16:10:00
Agence France Presse
March 21, 1997 21:04 GMT
HEADLINE: Monks in Mandalay demand release of demonstrator
DATELINE: RANGOON, March 21
Buddhist monks in Mandalay are threatening to return to the streets unless
authorities release a monk who was arrested during anti-Moslem unrest, informed
sources said Friday.
Residents said that monks are demanding his release by the full moon on
Sunday, sources in the northern city reached by telephone from here said.
Monks have vandalised mosques and attacked Moslem property including cars in
the troubles which began at the weekend, in apparent retribution for the
attempted rape of a Buddhist girl earlier in the month.
At least one novice monk is known to have died of gunshot wounds in the
unrest, amid a heavy security presence in the city, a diplomat reported from
Mandalay Thursday.
No further details about the arrested monk were available. It was unclear
whether others had been detained by authorities.
A curfew was in place for the fourth consecutive night Thursday, but there
were no reported disturbances, residents said.
Informed sources noted that the movements of monks in and out of their
monasteries were being monitored by security forces.
Monks from outlying areas were being prevented by authorities from coming to
Mandalay, which is Burma's leading Buddhist centre, the sources said.
Demonstrations by Buddhist monks have spread from Mandalay to four more
Burmese cities, a diplomatic source said Friday.
A curfew has been imposed in Moulmein in Tenasserim division, while protests
by monks have also been reported this week in Pyinmana, Taungoo and Prome, the
source said by telephone from Rangoon.
**********************************
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
March 21, 1997, Friday
SECTION: Part 3 Asia-Pacific; SOUTHEAST ASIA; BURMA; FE/D2873/B
HEADLINE: Buddhist monks attack mosques, Muslim property in Mandalay
SOURCE: Source: Radio Australia external service, Melbourne, in English 0900 gmt
20 Mar 97
Text of report by Radio Australia
Burmese police have fired over the heads of crowds in a bid to quell growing
unrest in the northern city of Mandalay. Evan Williams reports [that] Buddhist
monks vandalised eight mosques in angry protests over the attempted rape of
a
girl by Muslim men, but the unrest could be politically motivated.
[Williams] Police and soldiers have quelled the (?wild) outbursts for now,
but tension remains high in Burma's second biggest city of Mandalay. Four
other northern towns are under alert and five have night curfews, as officials
fear the unrest could spread.
Earlier reports say trouble started when Buddhist monks attacked mosques and
Muslim-owned property after the alleged attempted rape of a girl, a highly
unusual act in Burma. But Burma's Buddhist Youth Wing says officials made up
the rape story to cover up protests over deaths in prison of 16 monks. The
military government denies that claim, but says the unrest was a politically
motivated attempt by agitators to stall Burma's entry to the ASEAN
[Association of Southeast Asian Nations] group of Southeast Asian nations.
Monks were a politically important force during the last uprising against the
government.
Evan Williams, Bangkok.
************************************************************************
Agence France Presse
March 20, 1997 20:04 GMT
HEADLINE: New religious unrest in Burmese city
DATELINE: (ADDS detail on incidents in Mandalay and background)
RANGOON, March 20 (AFP) - Burmese police fired over the heads of crowds in
the northern city of Mandalay in an attempt to disperse them as Buddhist-Moslem
religious unrest continued, informed sources said Thursday.
Witnesses reached by telephone from Rangoon said there were no known
casualties in the incidents which took place Wednesday.
Trouble started at the weekend when Buddhist monks attacked mosques and
Moslem-owned property in apparent retribution for an alleged rape attempt on a
Buddhist girl by one or more Moslem men.
The eyewitnesses and travellers returning to the capital from Mandalay
estimated that the number of monks involved in the unrest had grown from several
hundred to several thousand. They said tension was mounting.
The latest information indicated that eight mosques had so far been
vandalized and 18 motor vehicles damaged.
Several tourist agencies in Rangoon said they had cancelled tours to Mandalay
for the time being.
On Wednesday an informed source said five cities with large Moslem
populations had been placed under security alert. Some 85 percent of Burma's
population is Buddhist, while Moslems account for about 3.9 percent, including
some 250,000 in Mandalay.
Police and army forces were deployed in Rangoon, Mandalay, Sittwe in Arakan
state, Bassein in Irrawaddy division and Moulmein in Tennasserim division, the
source said.
Buddhist monasteries in the Mandalay area were signalling back and forth
using hollowed-out pieces of wood or drums, apparently to coordinate their
activities, the informed sources reported.
The hollow instruments are normally used to signal daily events such as
wake-up time within the monasteries.
The sources added that security was particularly heavy around monasteries
housing activist monks.
Five townships in Mandalay and two on the outskirts across the river were
kept under curfew for the third straight night. The curfew ran from 6:00 p.m. to
4:00 a.m. in some and from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. in others.
The situation was said to be calm in areas not under curfew but tense in the
others where heavy security was deployed.
The All- Burma Young Monks Union alleged in a statement received in Bangkok
Thursday that when Buddhist monks began demonstrating against the alleged deaths
in prison of 16 monks, the ruling junta had concocted the rape story as a
cover.
A Burmese military intelligence source has denied the reported deaths.
Monks command wide respect in Burma and were prominent in pro-democracy
demonstrations against military rule in 1988 which were crushed by the junta.
*******************************************************************
Agence France Presse
March 20, 1997 20:04 GMT
HEADLINE: New religious unrest in Burmese city
DATELINE: (ADDS detail on incidents in Mandalay and background)
RANGOON, March 20 (AFP) - Burmese police fired over the heads of crowds in
the northern city of Mandalay in an attempt to disperse them as Buddhist-Moslem
religious unrest continued, informed sources said Thursday.
Witnesses reached by telephone from Rangoon said there were no known
casualties in the incidents which took place Wednesday.
Trouble started at the weekend when Buddhist monks attacked mosques and
Moslem-owned property in apparent retribution for an alleged rape attempt on a
Buddhist girl by one or more Moslem men.
The eyewitnesses and travellers returning to the capital from Mandalay
estimated that the number of monks involved in the unrest had grown from several
hundred to several thousand. They said tension was mounting.
The latest information indicated that eight mosques had so far been
vandalized and 18 motor vehicles damaged.
Several tourist agencies in Rangoon said they had cancelled tours to Mandalay
for the time being.
On Wednesday an informed source said five cities with large Moslem
populations had been placed under security alert. Some 85 percent of Burma's
population is Buddhist, while Moslems account for about 3.9 percent, including
some 250,000 in Mandalay.
Police and army forces were deployed in Rangoon, Mandalay, Sittwe in Arakan
state, Bassein in Irrawaddy division and Moulmein in Tennasserim division, the
source said.
Buddhist monasteries in the Mandalay area were signalling back and forth
using hollowed-out pieces of wood or drums, apparently to coordinate their
activities, the informed sources reported.
The hollow instruments are normally used to signal daily events such as
wake-up time within the monasteries.
The sources added that security was particularly heavy around monasteries
housing activist monks.
Five townships in Mandalay and two on the outskirts across the river were
kept under curfew for the third straight night. The curfew ran from 6:00 p.m. to
4:00 a.m. in some and from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. in others.
The situation was said to be calm in areas not under curfew but tense in the
others where heavy security was deployed.
The All- Burma Young Monks Union alleged in a statement received in Bangkok
Thursday that when Buddhist monks began demonstrating against the alleged deaths
in prison of 16 monks, the ruling junta had concocted the rape story as a
cover.
A Burmese military intelligence source has denied the reported deaths.
Monks command wide respect in Burma and were prominent in pro-democracy
demonstrations against military rule in 1988 which were crushed by the junta.
*****************************************************************************
Agence France Presse
March 20, 1997 20:07 GMT
HEADLINE: Burmese security move to put down religious unrest
DATELINE: (RECASTS)
RANGOON, March 20 (AFP) - Burmese security forces have moved to put down
Buddhist-Moslem religious unrest in Mandalay amid fears the tensions could spark
political demonstrations, analysts said Thursday.
Witnesses reached by telephone from Rangoon said Burmese police fired over
the heads of rioters in an attempt to disperse them Wednesday. There were no
reported casualties.
The incident followed attacks by monks on mosques and Moslem property since
troubles began at the weekend. The attacks put authorities on alert in case
unrest escalated into protests against Burma's ruling junta, analysts said.
"The government is afraid that this trouble, which appears to be based on
religious differences, could start political demonstrations," said a foreign
analyst in Rangoon.
The unrest was said to have been triggered by the attempted rape of a
Buddhist girl by one or more Moslem men earlier this month.
The eyewitnesses and travellers returning to the capital from Mandalay
estimated that the number of monks involved in the unrest had grown from several
hundred to several thousand. They said tension was mounting.
The latest information indicated that eight mosques had so far been
vandalized and 18 motor vehicles damaged.
"There is a multitude of rumours that this is not just a racial thing," said
another foreign analyst in Rangoon. "However, right now it seems that the
violence (in Mandalay) appears directed primarily against mosques."
Burma's population is 85 percent Buddhist and 3.9 percent Moslem, including
some 250,000 residents of Mandalay. The Moslems are mainly descendents of south
Asians brought in to serve the British colonial administration.
On Wednesday an informed source said five cities with large Moslem
populations had been placed under security alert.
Police and army forces were deployed in Rangoon, Mandalay, Sittwe in Arakan
state, Bassein in Irrawaddy division and Moulmein in Tennasserim division, the
source said.
Monks command wide respect in Burma and were prominent in pro-democracy
demonstrations against military rule in 1988 which were crushed by the junta.
Analaysts noted that the monkhood in Mandalay is among the most politically
active in Burma.
Informed sources reported that Buddhist monasteries in the Mandalay area were
signalling back and forth using hollowed-out pieces of wood or drums, apparently
to coordinate their activities.
The hollow instruments are normally used to signal daily events such as
wake-up time within the monasteries.
The sources added that security was particularly heavy around monasteries
housing activist monks.
Five townships in Mandalay and two on the outskirts across the river were
kept under curfew for the third straight night Wednesday. The curfew ran from
6:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. in some and from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. in others.
The situation was said to be calm in areas not under curfew but tense in the
others where heavy security was deployed.
The All- Burma Young Monks Union (ABYMU) alleged in a statement received in
Bangkok that Buddhist monks had begun demonstrating because of government
oppression of the sangha (monkhood) and the alleged deaths in prison of 16
monks.
A Burmese military intelligence source has denied the reported deaths.
As a cover, Burma's ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC) had circulated a story that the protests were triggered by
Buddhist-Moslem tension following the reported rape, the ABYMU statement said.
The ABYMU is a group of Burmese monks in exile in the Thai border area who
have fled military rule in Burma.
**************************************************************************
AP Worldstream
March 20, 1997; Thursday 07:20 Eastern Time
HEADLINE: Monk reportedly dies in Burma unrest; Mandalay quiet
DATELINE: BANGKOK, Thailand
BODY:
A Buddhist monk in Mandalay, Burma, has died of gunshot wounds suffered
during anti-Muslim rioting, diplomatic sources in Rangoon said Thursday.
Police and soldiers continued patrolling the streets of the country's
second-largest city, which was described as tense but quiet, with a curfew still
in effect, said the sources, reached by telephone from Bangkok. They spoke on
condition of anonymity. The circumstances of the death were unclear, but
security forces had fired
their weapons over the heads of monks and other rioters sacking mosques and
property owned by Muslims on Tuesday, Mandalay residents said, and two monks
were wounded by ricochets.
No further unrest was confirmed Wednesday or Thursday. A government source,
speaking on condition of anonymity, described reports of higher security alerts
in five Burmese cities stemming from the unrest as a ''fabrication.''
The military government has deployed a visibly higher troop presence in many
Burmese cities since the beginning of the month, but the official said they were
a normal part of preparations for the annual Armed Forces Day celebrations March
27.
Mandalay residents said Thursday the city's biggest market remained closed,
but others had opened since being shut earlier in the week following initial
unrest Sunday after a Muslim man reportedly raped a Buddhist girl.
Monks participated in the rioting Sunday and Tuesday, residents said, sacking
mosques and Muslim houses and cars. Soldiers and police were posted Thursday
around certain monasteries. Monks
were allowed to leave for their predawn round of begging for their daily food,
but had to justify their movements otherwise.
There has been no apparent connection between the riots and the conflict
between the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council and Burma's Nobel
Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is suffering increasing restrictions
of her activities.
The government official denied claims by a Thailand-based dissident group,
the All- Burma Young Monks Union, that 16 monks had died in custody and that
the deaths had triggered the riots.
The official said that unspecified ''elements'' were believed to be
exploiting the tensions to derail Burma's expected entry into the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations. Muslim-dominated Malaysia and Indonesia are key
members.
Burma's entry into ASEAN, widely expected in July, would mark a coup for
the regime, offering diplomatic protection in the face of constant criticism in
the West of its human rights record.
Burma has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current regime came to
power in 1988 and killed thousands of anti-government protesters. It has opened
the long-isolated economy to free market forces, but keeps a tight lid on
dissent.
Mandalay's 20,000 monks are notoriously militant and took part in the 1988
uprising and in anti-government protests in 1990. The
overnment has banned many of their organizations.
*******************************************************************
Asia Times
March 20, 1997
HEADLINE: Myanmar clashes political, not religious, says Yangon
BYLINE: Stephen Brookes
Myanmar's second largest city Mandalay has been put under a curfew
following violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims last weekend that
officials said may have been politically motivated.
The two days of riots, in which at least two mosques were reportedly
destroyed by monk-led mobs numbering in the hundreds, were brought under
control by the military and an 8pm to 4am curfew was now in place in five
primarily Muslim townships, analysts in Yangon said.
According to unconfirmed reports, three persons may have been killed during
the clashes. Government sources denied the reports. The riots, which broke out
in different parts of the city, were apparently sparked by rumors that a
Buddhist girl had been raped by a Muslim businessman, ob- servers in
Myanmar said. "This seems like a religious conflict rather than a political
protest," one analyst said, noting that a similar clash between Muslims and
Buddhists had taken place in Bathein several years ago.
But one high-level official disagreed, de- scribing the violence as
politically-motivated. "There are certain people targeting the students, the
monks and the workers" to create social unrest and derail Myanmar's expected
entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, he said, noting
that ASEAN members Indonesia and Malaysia were primarily Muslim.
"If the instigators can create misunderstandings, they can make problems for
Myanmar's entry into ASEAN," he said, adding that the government knew who was
behind the riots, but declined to identify them. "Everybody knows who is
opposing Myanmar's entry into ASEAN."
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, while never outrightly condemning
Myanmar's entry into ASEAN, had said it would consolidate the power of the
ruling junta, making it harder to move toward democracy.
"The mobs may have been led by a politically-motivated group within the
monks," one diplomat in Yangon said. "There are young monks who are fairly
political. But the clashes did not seem to be coordinated and there are tensions
between the Muslim and Buddhist communities, which have different
social values."
A government source said between 200 and 300 monks from various monasteries
were involved in the clashes, with an unknown number of supporters
participating. He said a recent media report that 16 monks had been taken to
military areas to be used as porters was a "hoax".
There are an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 monks and nuns in Myanmar, where
Theravada Buddhism is the prevalent religion. Close to 90 percent of the
population is Buddhist, while less than four percent are Muslims.
Buddhist monks have played key roles in the country's political history for
most of this century. Many actively supported the pro-democracy movement that
began in 1988 to 1989. Myanmar's ruling State Law and Order Restoration
Council has been making efforts over the past several years to promote Buddhism
and win support from the monks, primarily by building and restoring pagodas.
Mandalay and Yangon were reported as calm on Wednesday. Security is high in
the capital, ahead of the March 27 Armed Forces Day celebrations. "Whenever
anyone wants to start trouble with the monks, they start in Mandalay," one
official said. "It may spread to Yangon, we don't know. But that's what they
usually do."
***********************************************************
Financial Times
March 20, 1997, Thursday LONDON EDITION 1
HEADLINE: Burma imposes martial law in Mandalay
BYLINE: By Ted Bardacke in Bangkok
DATELINE: Bangkok
Burma's military government has imposed martial law and a night-time curfew
in Mandalay, the country's second city, following a series of attacks on Moslems
by Buddhist monks.
The government said the unrest was an attempt to derail Burma's expected
entry later this year into the Association of South-east Asian Nations,
which
is seen by critics of Rangoon as strengthening legitimacy of the military
regime.
Attacks by monks on Moslem mosques and neighbourhoods began last weekend,
according to residents in Mandalay and diplomats in the capital, Rangoon. The
attacks apparently began after reports reached several temples that a young
Moslem had assaulted a Burmese girl. Groups of young monks then began roaming
the streets.
The government crackdown has included blocking main roads and closing the
main market. More than 90 per cent of the population of Mandalay, Burma's
cultural and religious centre, is Buddhist. Monks from Mandalay have in the past
spearheaded political protests, along with students and civil servants.
Monks played an important role in the democracy uprisings of 1988 and 1990
but have recently kept a low profile, with the government pursuing a policy of
repression and of co-opting them.
A government spokesman said: "Some elements are exploiting the situation by
trying to promote misunderstanding between the two religions.
"The main reason [is] to create unrest in the country by creating
disturbances where and when opportunity arises, to create misunderstanding
between Myanmar [Burma] and her Asean friends, especially with Indonesia and
Malaysia, both Islamic nations."
Malaysia and Indonesia are seen as the strongest backers of Burma's request
to join Asean, expected to be formalised in July.
The disturbances are the second bout of unrest to hit Mandalay. Its two main
universities have been closed since student demonstrations swept Burma last
December. Monks were often seen gathering near the demonstrators in both
Mandalay and Rangoon.
***********************************************************************
Reuters North American Wire
March 20, 1997, Thursday, BC cycle
HEADLINE: Curfew still on in Mandalay, other cities calm
DATELINE: RANGOON, March 20
A curfew and other restrictions remain in place in Burma's second city
Mandalay following recent unrest, but other parts of the country were calm,
residents and a government spokesman said on Thursday.
He denied reports of a security alert in several major Burmese cities
including the capital Rangoon after Buddhist monks and Moslems clashed in
Mandalay over the weekend.
"There is no such security alert...as newspaper reports are saying," the
spokesman told Reuters. "I believe those reports are based on speculations
to
create sensational news."
But residents in Mandalay said the 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew imposed earlier
this week in several Mandalay townships was still being enforced.
Barricades remained on several major Mandalay streets and the military
government had imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code that bans
gatherings of more than five people.
There was no sign of recent increased security in Rangoon, although during
the past few months more soldiers have appeared as military control was
increased ahead of Armed Forces Day on March 27, when top military brass will
gather in the capital.
Government officials said authorities feared terrorist attacks, especially by
insurgent groups, ahead of Armed Forces Day. Diplomats said the government was
also concerned about uprisings by other groups.
The restrictions in Mandalay were imposed by the government after weekend
clashes between Buddhist monks and Moslems. The unrest came after a young
Buddhist girl was molested by a Moslem, the
spokesman and diplomats said.
Diplomats said at least two mosques were destroyed and several people were
wounded in the weekend attacks. Mandalay residents said four mosques had been
ransacked and at least two monks were wounded when security forces from inside
one of the mosques tried to disperse the monks.
The government spokesman gave no details of the attack, but on Wednesday he
said they were organised by people bent on destabilising the country as it
prepared to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Burma hopes to be accepted this year as a full member of ASEAN, which at
present groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam.
The spokesman said "elements" in Burma were trying to promote
misunderstanding between the two religions and thus cause problems with some of
the ASEAN nations like Indonesia and Malaysia that have large Moslem
populations. Burma is about 90 percent Buddhist, and a large portion of the
country's
monks live in Mandalay.
Buddhist monks played a key role in pro-democracy uprisings from 1988-1990
and many were arrested after refusing to perform religious services for soldiers
and their families.
A statement received in Bangkok from the All Burma Young Monks' Union- an
offshoot of an exiled Burmese students' group based on the Thai- Burma border-
said the weekend unrest was more political in nature.
It said the monks were protesting the deaths in prison of 16 monks who had
been badly treated and forcibly defrocked by the military government.
The government spokesman denied the deaths of the 16 monks.
"The monks who joined in the demonstration requested from the ruling SLORC
(State Law and Order Restoration Council) a list of the names of all monks
currently detained and demanded their unconditional release," the Union said,
noting the SLORC had previously said 3,115 monks had been arrested and
detained.
Diplomats said they had not heard the unrest was related to imprisoned monks,
and said it was mainly a religious issue.REUTER
*******************************************************
Agence France Presse
March 19, 1997 19:12 GMT
HEADLINE: Mandalay calm but curfew still in force after religious unrest
DATELINE: BANGKOK, March 19
BODY:
Security has been tightened on the streets of Mandalay in northern Burma
and a night curfew is in force in the wake of attacks on mosques by Buddhist
monks, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.
Traditional enmity between Buddhists and Moslems in the city apparently
bubbled to the surface Sunday when monks attacked two mosques in retribution for
the attempted rape of a Buddhist girl by Moslem men, said the source speaking by
telephone from Rangoon.
Residents in Mandalay had reported Wednesday that there had been no further
unrest and the city -- Burma's second largest -- was calm, although there were
increased police patrols, the source said.
A curfew was in force from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. in five townships of Mandalay,
said the source.
There were no reported casualties in the unrest, which has received no
mention in the state-run media.
Burma has put five cities under security alert after religious unrest
involving Buddhists and Moslems in the northern city of Mandalay, an informed
source said Wednesday.
Combined security forces, including police and the army, have been deployed
in Rangoon, Mandalay, Sittwe in the Arakan state, Bassein in Irriwaddy division
and Moulmein in Tennasserim division where there are large Moslem communities,
the source said. kmt-mp/mec/jkb
RANGOON, March 19 (AFP) - Burma has put five cities under security alert
after religious unrest involving Buddhists and Moslems in the northern city of
Mandalay, an informed source said Wednesday.
Combined security forces, including police and the army, have been deployed
in Rangoon, Mandalay, Sittwe in the Arakan state, Bassein in Irriwaddy division
and Moulmein in Tennasserim division where there are large Moslem communities,
the source said.
Residents reached by telephone in Mandalay said a curfew from 8 p.m. to 4
a.m. was in force in seven townships, some streets were sealed off and the main
market was closed.
It follows an attack by monks on mosques and Moslem-owned property in the
city Sunday, in apparent retribution for the attempted rape of a Buddhist girl
by one or more Moslem men earlier in the month.
Burmese authorities had extended the "first degree security alert" to prevent
tensions spreading to other cities, the informed source said.
In Rangoon, there were now armed soldiers patrolling in Moslem districts in
the east of the city, as well as a heavier security presence already evident
where the national Armed Forces Day parade is due to be held on March 27,
witnesses said.
**********************************************************************
AP Worldstream
March 19, 1997; Wednesday 08:10 Eastern Time
HEADLINE: Shooting, arrests reported in new unrest in Mandalay
DATELINE: RANGOON, Burma
BODY:
Burmese riot police in Mandalay have reportedly fired their weapons to quell
vandalism by Buddhist mobs, including monks, sacking mosques in response to the
alleged rape of a Buddhist girl by a Muslim, residents said Wednesday.
The police were said to have fired over the heads of groups of rioters
Tuesday to disperse the attacks against mosques and property owned by Muslims,
said the residents, reached in the country's second city by telephone.
At least two Buddhist monks taking part in the riots were hospitalized with
bullet wounds from ricochets, said the residents, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
There was no apparent connection to the tensions between the government and
the pro-democracy movement led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
It was unclear whether there were other injuries or deaths. Officials of the
military government have withheld comment since the unrest erupted over the
weekend and none of the rumors about it have been officially confirmed.
The All Burma Young Monks Union, a dissident monks group, said in a
statement seen in Bangkok, Thailand, that the unrest actually stemmed from the
maltreatment of monks in Burmese jails. The group suggested the regime was
provoking the unrest to create a pretext for cracking down on monks.
The group claimed an unknown number of monks were arrested after a protest
Monday and 15 were summarily sentenced to long prison terms. The claim could not
be confirmed.
Residents said Mandalay, 700 kilometers (400 miles) north of Rangoon, was
quiet but tense Wednesday. Official cars with loudspeakers warned residents
torespect an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew and not to assemble in groups of five or
more.
Some markets, 9th graf
****************************
Note:
Burmese community in Washington D.C. areas will soon hold a protest in front
of the SLOERC's embassy to demounce the SLORC which killed a Buddhist monk
in Mandalay by gun shoot. Date and time of the protest will be posted here
in BurmaNet.