Burma's military leaders stepped up pressure on monks who spearheaded pro-democracy rallies, saying today that weapons had been seized from Buddhist monasteries and threatening to punish all violators of the law.
The government also announced dozens of new arrests, defying global outrage over its recent violent crackdown on protestors who sought an end to 45 years of military dictatorship.
Security eased in the largest city of Rangoon more than a week after soldiers and police opened fire on demonstrators. Some roadblocks were removed and visitors began trickling back to the heavily guarded Shwedagon and Sule pagodas, the starting and finishing points of protests that began in mid-August over a sharp fuel price increase.
The junta says at least 10 people were killed in its September 26-27th crackdown — though independent sources say the toll was likely much higher — and that some 1,000 remain in detention centers.
At least 135 monks are being held, according to The New Light of Myanmar, a mouthpiece of the junta. It said recent raids on monasteries had turned up guns, knives and ammunition, though it was not yet clear to whom they belonged.
In addition, 78 more people suspected of involvement in the rallies were being questioned by investigators, it said. Tens of thousands of people turned out for last month's protests, the biggest in nearly two decades against brutal military rule. The junta's bloody crackdown sparked international condemnation — even from its Southeast Asian neighbors.