Buddhist monks and activists initiated a protest at Sule Pagoda in Rangoon, starting at 4 pm on Friday, to protest the violent crackdown by riot police on peaceful protesters, including hundreds of monks, at the Monywa copper mine site in Sagaing Division.
A spokesperson told Mizzima that the protesters are calling for a suspension to the Latpadaung Mountain copper mine project and are standing in opposition to the violent crackdown by riot police early on Thursday morning.
“The protest has begun here at Sule [Pagoda] with some 50 Buddhist monks and about a hundred laypeople. But the crowd is still gathering. We have not even had time to prepare posters or flyers,” he said.
He said that members of ethnic networks, youth groups, conservation groups, and junior members of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions were all at the protest, as well as representatives of the Latpadaung protest committee and farmers whose lands had been confiscated.
“There are about 50 police officers behind us,” he said, speaking by mobile phone. “They don’t have guns. They don’t have shields. But they are armed with batons.”
