Myanmar Protests Enter 4th Day

Buddhist monks march in the rain along Waizayantar road in the western Yangon suburb of Ahlone Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. Buddhist monks staged peaceful protest marches for a second day, challenging authorities who used tear gas and fired warnings shots to break up some protests a day earlier. (AP photo) (AP)

Monks may now be assuming the vanguard because top pro-democracy activists were rounded up soon after the start of the demonstrations, said Debbie Stothard of Altsean-Burma, a Bangkok, Thailand-based coalition of non-governmental groups working for human rights and democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"In these situations, the monks have sought to protect the civilian population by taking sole responsibility for these protests," she said by e-mail. "Despite this, if the monks are violently attacked en masse, it will be inevitable that the rest of the population will weigh in."

The monks and their followers in Yangon stopped briefly in front of the U.S. Embassy. Washington is a top critic of the junta.

Speaking to the crowd, an unidentified monk said people's lives were getting worse because the government was "unjust and selfish."

"We will stage our marches every sabbath day," said another monk who sat on a huge ornamental chair. The next Buddhist sabbath falls on Sept. 26.

As the monks marched, they chanted sermons, avoiding explicit anti-government gestures. But their message of protest was unmistakable to fellow citizens as monks normally leave their monasteries only for morning rounds with bowls seeking alms.

Unconfirmed reports said monks staged protests in several other cities Thursday, including Pakokku and Monywa in north central Myanmar.

Monks have historically been at the forefront of protests in the country, first against British colonialism and later against military dictatorship. They played a prominent part in a failed 1988 pro-democracy uprising that sought an end to military rule, imposed since 1962.

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AP writer Sarah DiLorenzo at the United Nations contributed to this report.