Demonstrations in Yangon

YANGON, MYANMAR - SEPTEMBER 25: Monks march down Sule Pagoda Road during an anti-military government protest on September 25, 2007 in Yangon, Myanmar. The day concluded peacefully despite fears of a military crackdown after yesterday's televised speech by the Minister Of Religious Affairs, Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung, intimating that the monks would be punished if they continued demonstrating. Mass protests began after the military government implemented dramatic price hikes in fuel prices on August 15th causing public bus fares to double and widespread economic hardship. The monks became involved when the leadership of initial protest marches were supressed. For the first time since the recent protests began, uniformed security personnel were positioned throughout the former capital, patrolling watching crowds, telling them to not get involved lest action be taken against them. Military trucks parked less than a kilometer from City Hall and the Sule Pagoda, the plaza between the two buildings where in 1988, the government crushed similar pro-democracy protests by killing up to 3000 pro-democracy protesters. Government opposition has been repeatedly crushed in the country and the latest demonstrations have yet again led to mass arrests of political activists opposing the regime. (Photo by Christian Holst/Getty Images)