Images from Second Huge Rangoon Demonstration

Images from Second Huge Rangoon Demonstration

A tide of protesters marched through the streets of Rangoon again on Tuesday, despite warnings from the generals that force could be used to halt the current wave of protests.

An estimated 30,000 monks were joined by 70,000 civilians as they stepped out from the famed Shwedagon Pagoda - Burma's holiest shrine and the symbolic heart of the latest anti-junta uprising.

In a new development the "Fighting Peacock" flag has once again returned to the streets of Rangoon, carried by members of the powerful pro-democracy organisation, known as '88 Generation Students.

The flag was the symbol of the students' struggle against the military during the August 1988 "People Power" uprising.

The August 1988 rebellion was eventually crushed by the army, with the loss of thousands of lives. In an ominous reminder of past events, a small number of soldiers was deployed outside Shwedagon on Tuesday for the first time since protests against soaring fuel prices began a month ago.

The monks' refusal to accept alms from senior members of the military and their families, a boycott called "pattam nikkujjana kamma," or "overturning the bowl," remains in place.

ENDS

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