UN moves on Burma
September 22, 2007 12:00am
THE UNITED Nations wants urgent action to end Burma's political crisis, as monks yesterday continued a week-long protest that has posed the biggest threat to the military junta in a decade.
Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Special Envoy to Burma, has told the Security Council that recent protests in the country, and the military regime's subsequent crackdowns, raised "serious concerns" and underlined the urgency of resolving the political turmoil there.
Mr Gambari told the council he planned to visit Burma but set no date.
"Undoubtedly, the developments over the last few weeks in Burma have raised serious concerns in the international community and once again underscore the urgency to step up our efforts to find solutions to the challenges facing the country," Mr Gambari told the council, a source said.
Authorities yesterday again faced the prospect of another protest march through Rangoon, Burma's biggest city.
Authorities, normally quick to crack down hard on dissent, have left the marchers unmolested, apparently wary of sparking further problems.
Around Rangoon yesterday, processions of monks converged from various monasteries in the early afternoon at the golden hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's most revered shrine, where they said prayers before marching.
During the marches, often in steady rain, as many as 1000 monks have been joined by thousands of countrymen.
Monks have carried religious flags and an upside-down alms bowl, a symbol of protest and embarrassing to the junta.
Their activities have given new life to a protest movement that began a month ago after a huge government-ordered hike in fuel prices, further causing economic hardships. The protests also reflect long pent-up opposition to the repressive military regime.
~ AP
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