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SYDNEY: Activists took to the streets in cities across Asia Saturday, kicking off a global day of protest against a bloody crackdown on dissent in Myanmar.
Hundreds rallied outside Sydney's iconic Opera House in Australia, while in Melbourne 1,000 people marched, some carrying red banners that read "no more bloodshed."
Around 500 people marched through Wellington's main thoroughfare in New Zealand, with smaller protests held in other cities across the country in an expression of solidarity with Myanmar's pro-democracy protesters.
Dozens also gathered in front of the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, shouting "Free Burma" and brandishing pictures of the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, while campaigners in India prepared to hold a candle-lit vigil outside a war memorial in the heart of New Delhi.
Rights group Amnesty International said protests would be held in cities across the globe.
Amnesty's London-based secretary general Irene Khan said the protests were aimed at focusing world attention on the actions of Myanmar's military government.
"Support is now greatly needed to keep visible pressure on the Myanmar authorities to stop the violence towards demonstrators, ensure the safety of detainees and release prisoners of conscience," Khan said in a statement on Amnesty's international website www.amnesty.org.
She said the rallies sent the message to the military government that "the world is still watching".
Amnesty New Zealand campaign director Gary Reese said demonstrators marched in several cities across the country, many wearing red to honour the Buddhist monks who spearheaded the Myanmar protests.
He said Prime Minister Helen Clark, currently in Europe, had sent a message of support.
"There was a really strong feeling that people wanted action on Burma, that it's become the world's forgotten human rights crisis over the last 40 years or so and we can't let that continue," he told AFP.
"The people of Burma have done all they can, they've been arrested, they've been killed -- now it's time for the international community to do something."
Myanmar has said 13 people were killed in the crackdown on the anti-government protests, the largest the country has seen in almost 20 years.
But Australian authorities estimate the Myanmar military killed at least 30 people taking part in the mass pro-democracy rallies and arrested more than 1,400 participants, including Buddhist monks.
Amnesty Australia campaign manager Andrew Beswick told the Melbourne rally the international community needed to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar.
Rallies were also held in Brisbane and Perth.
"This is about getting a message to the people in Burma," Brisbane protest organiser Natasha Lutes told AFP.
"They've been struggling to get the message out about the atrocities that are happening in Burma, putting their lives on the line. We want them to know the world has been listening and ordinary people everywhere support them."
Amnesty International Korea said some 200 protesters, including immigrant workers from Myanmar, would stage a protest outside the country's embassy in central Seoul on Sunday to press for the release of prisoners of conscience.
The protests came after key Western members of the UN Security Council circulated a draft statement condemning the "violent repression" in Myanmar and the United States signalled it may push for UN sanctions. - AFP/ir
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