Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
September 22, 2007

10,000 Monks Protest in Burma
-----------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1998113:A6F02AD83191E16061E6C0424E765D849574F7DCC14957C0 Monks marched
through city of Mandalay in one of their largest demonstrations
against military government Witnesses in Burma say nearly 10,000 monks
have marched through the city of Mandalay in one of their largest
demonstrations against the military government.







Rain-drenched Buddhist monks march in Myanmar's largest city, Rangoon,
22 Sep 2007Saturday is the fifth straight day the monks have staged a
protest. Another march was also held in Rangoon, where witnesses said
that detained pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi greeted the
monks when they were allowed to march past her home. Officials have
not confirmed the report.

On Friday, 600 robed monks braved intense rain and walked from the
Shwedagon Pagoda, the holiest shrine in Burma, to downtown Rangoon.

Monks have taken the lead in demonstrations that began last month
after the government doubled the price of fuel, making transportation
difficult for many of Burma's impoverished citizens. Authorities
arrested at least 50 activists in those demonstrations.

The government acknowledged using tear gas and firing warning shots to
break up a protest in Sittwe Tuesday.

Monks are highly regarded in the devoutly Buddhist country and are
credited with helping rally popular support for a 1988 protest against
the government. Security forces ended those demonstrations with deadly
force.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.


.