BURMA: Second protest over petrol price rises, more arrests
Updated
A second protest in the space of a week has been staged by pro-democracy activists in Burma, amid mounting public anger over rising petrol prices. Wednesday's demonstration followed a larger action on Sunday; reports from the region called it the largest anti-government protest in at least nine years. More than a dozen leaders of the pro-democracy 88-Generation group are now in custody, among them a high-profile human rights campaigner.
Presenter: Corinne Podger
Speakers: Khin Ohmar, a prominent Burmese human rights campaigner based in Thailand
OHMAR: They are the student leaders from the 1998 democracy uprising, so the group is known as the 88-generation students. These student leaders they've been in touch with the people and they've been hearing what is the suffering of the people and they try to raise their concerns and we present the voices of the people. Basically they are calling on the military regime to come into dialogue with democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
PODGER: One of the arrested group is the high profile pro-democracy activist, Min Ko Naing. He's won a number of European and American human rights awards, and Amnesty International has evidence that he was severely tortured in jail when he was imprisoned in the past. Are you concerned for his safety and for the safety of the rest of the group?
OHMAR: Yes I am, I am very much. They have spent 12 to 15 years in prison and during all these detentions they've been interrogated and tortured really badly. And that is quite likely if now they are arrested again once they are in the prison I can imagine how they're going to be treated yes. I'm concerned for pretty much their safety, their lives, but I'm hoping with the call from the international community, I hope that the regime will not do anything, will not go too far to get to the point that will endanger the lives of these student leaders.
PODGER: Despite these arrests Khin there was another attempted protest which was blocked by the military and it seems more people were arrested in that incident?
OHMAR: Yes that's true, the march was led by women, about 50 women, and then once they started marching peacefully along the way hundreds and hundreds of more people joined them. By the time they were blocked there was already about two-thousand people, and then of course they were blocked and then intimidated by the security forces and they were dispersed from the area. But at least seven people are confirmed to have been arrested, including this very well known woman activist, she's a member of the National League for Democracy and she was imprisoned. So the protesters received an enormous applause from the onlookers and the people by-passers. Even people came by cars and they brought lunch and water for the protestors so then you can really see the momentum is increasing and the level of the discontent of the people in the country.
PODGER: Indeed these protests are very rare in Burma. Is there a sense that people are becoming more willing to take to the streets despite the obvious risks?
OHMAR: Yes I think so, even right now I don't have confirmed information but there's already information that we received that there are protests in other towns in the country. There were also some protests in those areas as well. And also there is another one, it's said to be in front of the city hall, that protest is called by a group named Myanmar Development Committee, a group of activists, and they've been calling on the reduction of the basic commodity prices. So basically this is another rights-based action group.
PODGER: Is there a feeling amongst pro-democracy activists in Burma that the rise in petrol prices is perhaps the turning point that they've been waiting for, in terms of escalating the level of protest in Burma?
OHMAR: That's quite possible yes. People are fed up, people are really disappointed, people are really reaching you know to the fear and tolerance level of what's really happening, especially since last year you will see a series of rights-based actions taken up by one person or a group of individuals or student leaders like in 1988, NLD, parties, huge numbers and women numbers, you've seen many different actions taken in many different areas of the country. So yes, the people's level of tolerance has I think reached beyond what they can actually take in.
