AP

Posted: 2007-09-29 02:51:55

Filed Under: World News

YANGON, Myanmar  (Sept. 29) — Protesters seeking an end to Myanmar’s decades-long military dictatorship were losing hope Saturday after troops seized control of the streets, firing tear gas to scatter the few demonstrators who dared to venture out, and sealing off Buddhist monasteries.

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Photo Gallery: Struggle for Democracy

Frank Franklin II, AP

Protesters gather near the U.N. headquarters in New York City, Friday to voice support for anti-government protesters in Myanmar.

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The two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, were quiet, with soldiers and police stationed on almost every corner. Shopping malls, grocery stores and public parks were closed. Internet links have been cut and phone service was sporadic, further isolating residents.

“I don’t think that we have any more hope to win,” said a young woman who took part in a massive demonstration Thursday that was broken up when troops opened fire into a crowd. She was separated from her boyfriend and has not seen him since.

“The monks are the ones who give us courage,” she said, referring to the clergymen who have provided the backbone to recent rallies. Most are now besieged in their monasteries, penned in by locked gates and barbed wire surrounding the compounds.

Daily protests drawing tens of thousands of people had grown into the stiffest challenge to the ruling military junta in two decades, a crisis that began more than a month ago when people in the desperately poor nation of 54 million started rallying against a massive fuel price increase. Crowd numbers mushroomed when highly revered monks joined in.

The junta, which has a long history of snuffing out internal and external dissent, started cracking down Wednesday, when the first of at least 10 deaths was reported, and then let loose on Thursday, shooting  protesters and clubbing them with batons.

Small groups of activists and ordinary citizens have continued to turn out since then. Housewives and shop owners were among those taunting troops and then quickly disappearing into alleyways.

“Bloodbath again! Bloodbath again!” a Yangon resident yelled Friday while watching troops break up one march by shooting into the air, firing tear gas and beating people with clubs. Participants in the protests asked that their names not be used, fearing retribution.

The mood in Yangon and Mandalay was somber Saturday, with few people daring to leave their homes. “People are living in a state of fear and hate,” said one onlooker, who asked not to be named. “A few days ago, everyone was friendly. Now no one wants to talk to strangers.”

Images of bloodied protesters and fleeing crowds have riveted world attention on the escalating crisis, prompting many governments to urge the junta to end the violence.

The U.N. special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, was heading to the country Saturday to promote a political solution. But Western diplomats said his schedule had been set by the government and likely would not include meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, or other pro-democracy leaders.

“I look forward to a very fruitful visit so that I can report progress on all fronts,” Gambari told reporters before getting on a plane in Singapore, adding that he was delivering a message from the U.N. secretary general and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “I expect to meet all the people that I need to meet.”

The United States, meanwhile, urged “all civilized nations” to press Myanmar’s leaders to end the crackdown, which has also resulted in hundreds of arrests. Win Mya Mya, an outspoken member of Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, was among those seized overnight, according to family members.

“They don’t want the world to see what is going on there,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said, as soldiers searched hotels for foreign journalists, who have been largely barred from entering the country.

But analysts said it was unlikely that countries with major investments in Myanmar, such as China and India, would agree to take any punitive measures. They also noted the junta has long ignored criticism of its tough handling of dissidents.

Although the crackdown raised fears of a repeat of a 1988 democracy uprising that saw an estimated 3,000 protesters slain, the junta appeared relatively restrained so far.

The arrival of additional troops in Yangon strengthened the government’s hand, said an Asian diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. The corralling of monks – who carry high moral authority in the predominantly Buddhist nation – was also a serious blow.

Authorities also shut off the country’s two Internet service providers, although big companies and embassies hooked up to the Web by satellite remained online. The Internet has played a crucial role in getting news and images of the democracy protests to residents and the outside world alike.

Lines formed at stores in Yangon for shortwave radios, with people eager to hear what was going on in their own country.

The government has put the official death toll from this week’s violence at 10, but diplomats and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said many more may have died, citing unconfirmed witness reports.