After the army deployed across the country yesterday and moved Aung San Suu Kyi from her home to a notorious prison, the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has begun in Burma:
Burmese police have used batons to beat back protesters including monks at the Rangoon pagoda used as a rallying-point for marchers, eyewitnesses say.
They baton-charged a crowd of civilians and monks outside the Shwedagon Pagoda as demonstrators readied for a ninth day of protest marches.
Police and troops have been ringing Buddhist monasteries in the city.
Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops opened fire on unarmed protestors, killing thousands.
The military regime in Burma is a ruthless entity well capable of firing on its own citizens. Dark days may lay ahead for the Burmese people. I salute their bravery and pray for their safety.
