Crackdown in Burma

Burmese police fired warning shots and tear gas, and arrested hundreds of people as Buddhist monks and other protesters defied a ban on assembly. Only united international support can protect pro-democracy activists from a brutal crackdown, said The New Y

Burmese police fired warning shots and tear gas, and hauled away hundreds of people Wednesday after Buddhist monks and other protesters defied a ban on assembly. The military government said one man was killed by a ricocheting bullet. Police also blockaded temples in the capital city, Myanmar, an an attempt to prevent the highly respected monks from joining the protests, as they had for the past eight days.

“By dispatching troops into the streets and imposing a curfew, Myanmar’s cruel military junta has set the stage for a serious clash with pro-democracy activists,” said The New York Times in an editorial (free registration). President Bush and the European Union have proposed just the kind of sanctions and united international response that could finally, after 19 years, end the generals’ brutal reign. The question is whether the countries that sell weapons to the army—China, Russia, and India—will go along.

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