Myanmar's military regime freed a wounded protester in a conciliatory gesture after tensions boiled over when Buddhist monks seized a group of officials as hostages, activists said yesterday.
Ye Thein Naing, who suffered a broken leg when authorities arrested a crowd of anti-junta protesters in Yangon on Aug. 28, was released during the night after being brought to a hospital for treatment, activists said.
A group of pro-democracy supporters jailed with Ye Thein Naing had staged a week-long hunger strike to demand medical attention for him, but they resumed eating after he was taken to hospital on Wednesday, activists said.
PHOTO: AP
Myanmar's military, which has ruled with an iron fist for 45 years, rarely shows such concern for the more than 1,000 political prisoners believed held in the nation's jails.
Rights groups frequently denounce the regime for refusing prisoners access to medical treatment. The Red Cross has not been allowed to visit Myanmar's prisons for nearly two years.
"This time they let the person go to the hospital and release him -- it's a small concession. They are worried that things could escalate" after the hostage crisis on Thursday at the monastery, Thailand-based analyst Win Min said.
The showdown in Pakokku, about 500km north of Yangon, was the most serious confrontation since protests began on Aug. 19.
Twenty government and security officials were held hostage for several hours, as monks torched four of their cars.
After the officials were freed, about a dozen monks marched through the town and trashed an electronics shop owned by a local militia leader.
The monks were enraged after soldiers fired warning shots into the air to break up a march on Wednesday, when some 300 Buddhist clergy walked through the streets praying in solidarity with the people after a massive hike in fuel prices.
Pro-junta militia then beat the crowd with bamboo sticks, according to residents, who lined the streets to cheer the monks' march and the hostage-taking.
Pakokku is a major center of Buddhist learning in Myanmar, and analysts said the crisis at the monastery raised the risk that other teaching temples around the country could mobilize their monks.
The military and the Buddhist clergy are the two most important institutions in Myanmar and the only groups that maintain networks stretching across the entire country formerly known as Burma.
Monks were credited with rallying popular support for a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, which was crushed by the military, when soldiers opened fire on protesters, killing hundreds, if not thousands.
In an unusually swift commentary on the situation in Pakokku,state media on Friday accused the monks of trying "to create public outrage in order to intentionally incite a mass protest like '88 unrest."
The protests last month were spearheaded by student leaders of the 1988 uprising, who spent more than a decade in prison but were released over the last three years.
The latest crackdown sparked an international outcry.
US President George W. Bush attacked the regime while attending the APEC summit in Sydney.
"We must press the regime in Burma to stop arresting, harassing, and assaulting pro-democracy activists for organizing or participating in peaceful demonstrations," he said yesterday.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
RSS