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YANGON - Myanmar's generals have stepped up their search for democracy activists, rounding up suspected participants in last week's protests and dividing them into "passersby", "those who watched", "those who clapped" and "those who joined in".
Patrolling the streets of Yangon before dawn in trucks with loudspeakers, troops broadcast messages warning: "We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!"
The drive came as the UN special envoy flew back to New York, tight-lipped about his talks with the regime's most senior general. Ibrahim Gambari was able to meet twice with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy. However, the regime's determination to arrest as many activists as possible suggests it is not seeking to soften its stance any time soon.
Quite how many people have been arrested is not clear. Before last week's demonstrations in which thousands of Buddhist monks played a leading role, it was reported that about 120 activists and civilians involved in marches and protests had been detained in holding camps and jails. It was also known that the regime had a list of 22 other leading activists it wanted to arrest.
Now reports from exile media say as many as 6000 monks and civilians are being held. Equally unclear is the precise death toll. The regime says 10 people were killed but exile groups say the figure could be as high as 200.
- Independent
