UPDATE: NINE ARE DEAD!
The BBC again has video of the protests in Rangoon HERE.
Burmese blogger Ko Htike has several photos of the brutal beatdown by the junta including this one.
Democratic Voice of Burma reports that residents surrounded the security forces who raided the monastery:
Local residents in South Okkalapa township have surrounded security forces who returned to Ngway Kyar Yan monastery to arrest the abbot following last night’s raids.
At least 130 monks were detained in the raid on the monastery, and personal belongings including robes, rice and 2,000,000 Kyat in cash were seized.
Security forces returned at around noon today to arrest the abbot and took up positions surrounding the monastery.
But hundreds of thousands of local residents, outraged by the raids, surrounded the troops, shouting anti-government slogans and demanding the immediate release of the detained monks.
“The military is surrounding the monastery and firing warning shots to disperse the crowds, but people are standing firm,” said a bystander.
The latest reports from the scene say that more people are joining the crowds.
In this photo released by the Democratic Voice of Burma, Myanmar soldiers, center, block a road leading to Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar on Wednesday Sept. 26, 2007. Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas canisters while hauling militant Buddhist monks away in trucks Wednesday as they tried to stop anti-government demonstrations in defiance of a ban on assembly. (AP Photo/ Democratic Voice of Burma)
The Democratic Voice of Burma reports on new rounds of violence in Rangoon:
Sep 27, 2007 (DVB)—About 700 monks and civilians were arrested late last night following a brutal attack by the military on at least three monasteries in Rangoon.
At the Ngway Kyar Yan Monastery in South Okkalapa township eyewitnesses described the scene of the arrests as unbelievable.
“Many spots of blood could still be seen in the morning in the monastery compound and nearby,” one witness said.
Eyewitnesses said three trucks filled with soldiers arrived at the monastery at about 12:15am this morning. When the monks refused the soldiers’ demand to open the gate, a fight broke out in which both sides hurled bricks at each other for about 20 minutes.
In this photo made available by the Democratic Voice of Burma, soldiers man a checkpoint Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007, in downtown Yangon, Myanmar. Overnight Myanmar security forces raided two Buddhist monasteries beating up and hauling away more than 100 monks following a day of violent confrontation. (AP Photo/Democratic Voice of Burma, HO)
China and Russia blocked firm statements against the junta at the UN:
“What’s going on in Burma is outrageous,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after a luncheon meeting of ministers from the eight major industrialized nations. “The regime needs to stop using violence against peaceful people and get to a dialogue so that they can have reconciliation.”
China and Russia contend that the situation in Myanmar is an internal affair and doesn’t threaten international peace and security — as required for Security Council action — so getting them to agree to the press statement was considered a positive step.
Michelle Malkin continues her coverage of the protests.
Irawaddy has more coverage on the violent crackdown.
Previously:
In Rare Protest- Myanmar Democracy Activists Get Beatdown
1,000 Burmese Monks Protest Junta Abuse– Get Beatdown!
Burma’s Monks March On– Meet With Aung San Suu Kyi -Update: With Photo
20,000 Protest Military Junta in Burma!
ANOTHER MASSIVE PROTEST in Rangoon Against the Junta!
JUNTA FIRES ON MONKS!… Deaths Reported in Burma
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