Myanmar Monks Said to March Again

[babylonsister]

Myanmar Monks Said to March Again

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 31, 2007

Filed at 2:04 p.m. ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- More than 100 Buddhist monks marched peacefully Wednesday in a northern Myanmar town noted for its defiance of the country's military rulers, the first large protest since the junta violently crushed a wave anti-government demonstrations.

The monks marched for nearly an hour in the town of Pakokku, chanting a Buddhist prayer that has come to be associated with the pro-democracy cause. They did not carry signs or shout slogans, but their action was clearly in defiance of the military government, as one monk spelled out in a radio interview.

''We are continuing our protest from last month as we have not yet achieved any of the demands we asked for,'' the monk told the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based short-wave radio station and Web site run by dissident journalists.

''Our demands are for lower commodity prices, national reconciliation and immediate release of (pro-democracy leader) Aung San Suu Kyi and all the political prisoners,'' said the monk, who was not identified by name.

He said they had little time to organize the march so it was small. But ''there will be more organized and bigger protests soon.'' After marching without interference, the monks returned to their respective monasteries, two of those who took part said in telephone interviews.

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