BURMA (MYANMAR): Anti-government protests continue despite military warnings / International response

The military Junta have imposed a dawn to dusk curfew in Burma's main city Rangoon as well as the second city of Mandalay, following another day of defiant protests by thousands of monks and civilians. Mobile phone and internet technology have fuelled the protetsts with pictorial evidence of the scale of the uprising provoking more to join in. Hundreds of troops and armed riot police have poured into the centre of Rangoon, warning they will take action if the protests continue. Meanwhile, the international community has started to rally behind the cause of the protesters. President Bush urged the Burmese people to reclaim their freedom, telling the United Nations General Assembly that Americans were outraged and would tighten economic sanctions against the regime. Britain also joined the international outcry against any attempt by Burma to impose a military crackdown, as Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was right to give 'political backing' to Burma's opposition leader Aung san suu Kyi and encourage the country 'in the right direction'. However, there has also been a stark warning from the UN's human rights investigator for Burma, who said he feared a 'very severe repression', and urged leading powers to intervene.

ITN Source | September 25, 2007

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