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BANGKOK : Protests in Myanmar turned violent on Wednesday after the military fired warning shots and beat protestors with batons, after they continued to demonstrate despite government warnings.
Three monks were reportedly killed, and there are rumours that Aung San Suu Kyi has been taken from her home and put in prison.
Pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar which began a month ago were sparked by a sudden 500 percent hike in oil prices.
The people were outraged as many could no longer afford to commute to work.
The surge in oil prices also affected their ability to pay for basic commodities.
The military government gave no explanation for the exorbitant hike, but speculation has been rife.
Soe Aung, Spokesman, National Council for the Union of Burma, says: "Some have said that they can no longer subsidise the fuel or the natural gas anymore. But what we see that the move of the administrative capital from Rangoon to Naypidaw the current place it costs a lot of money. It's a lot of money and where did they get the money from?"
In neighbouring Thailand, which is also a Buddhist nation, the man-on-the-street appears to sympathise with the protestors.
"The people of Myanmar have reached their limit. There haven't been protests for a long time. They couldn't tolerate the current situation any more," said one Thai.
"I think if the monks in Myanmar started these protest, it's an indication of how severe these problems are," said another.
Exiled Myanmar leaders living in Bangkok are hopeful the current protests will bring about change in their country and pave the way for democracy.
Soe Aung says: "There are more and more ASEAN leaders are spoken out about the situation in Burma. There are more ASEAN leaders calling the military regime to make changes, so we have seem this encouraging messages from the the ASEAN leaders."
Condemnation and sanctions from Western countries have had limited effect on the military government which has been led by General Than Shwe since 1992.
The Thai and Singaporean governments had stated that they are concerned about events in Myanmar and are monitoring the situation.
Analysts warn that the generals could use further force to maintain their grip power, given their reaction to similar dissent in the past. - CNA/ch
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