Narinjara
9/27/2009
Dhaka: The International Burmese Monks Organization (Bangladesh Branch) observed the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution in Dhaka, Bangladesh on September 26 by staging a demonstration against the Burmese military junta.U Thila Wantha, Secretary of the group, said, “Today is the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution. So we came here to voice our concern about the current political imbroglio in Burma. We demand that the military junta release all political prisoners including Aung Sann Suu Kyi, monk Gambira and U Ithariya.”
U Thila Wantha was speaking during the demonstration staged outside the Bangladesh high court in capital, Dhaka.
During the demonstration, over 40 Burmese democracy activists, including monks and women shouted slogans against the junta demanding the release of political prisoners immediately, a stop to oppression of monks and the Burmese people and chanted for the victory of the democracy movement.
U Thila Wantha said, "We also protested against the constitution drawn up by the Burmese regime for the 2010 elections. The constitution is not beneficial for our country and will be dangerous for our people in the future. The constitution is only to legitimize army rule in Burma in perpetuity.”
The demonstration began at 10 am and concluded at 11 am.
During the demonstration, the monk’s organization distributed a statement in both English and Burmese to journalists and Bangladeshi people, who gathered in support of the demonstration.
In the statement, the monks urged and reminded Burmese people to seek protection against the new constitution drawn up by the junta and the 2010 elections. The statement added that the constitution and 2010 election are only for the political benefit of the military rulers, not for the people.
The Burmese monks observed September 26 as the annual Saffron Revolution day because many monks were killed by the Burmese junta in Rangoon when monks staged demonstrations against the regime.
During the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, the junta deployed hordes of security personnel throughout Burma, including in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan state.
According to sources among monks, the authorities not only deployed security forces in Sittwe but also closely watched many monasteries in the town. Monks in Sittwe had to spend time inside monasteries during the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution.
