Following the spate of arrests of activists in military-ruled Burma triggered by swelling public discontent over sharp rise in fuel prices in the said territory, regional solidarity network Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) today urged the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to immediately take action and help stop the massive arrests and torture of activists now numbering to more than 100 people.

Following the spate of arrests of activists in military-ruled Burma triggered by swelling public discontent over sharp rise in fuel prices in the said territory, regional solidarity network Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) today urged the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to immediately take action and help stop the massive arrests and torture of activists now numbering to more than 100 people.

Reports said that rare defiant protests also sparked in major townships in Burma after government-controlled gasoline prices arbitrarily increased by 500%. The increase has made bus rides unaffordable for most people in Burma.

Calling the junta paranoid, APSOC Coordinator and Free Burma Coalition-Phils convenor Gus Miclat warned of more human rights violations in Burma. “The arrest of more than 100 protesters is a desperate attempt to quell people’s legitimate dissent over the arbitary increase in fuel costs. This is overkill,” Miclat added.

“The ASEAN and UN should do something more than releasing mild statements. The junta is launching a massive crackdown and the world should not simply sit-down and quietly watch the Burmese military regime drag, lock up and clobber its own people,”Miclat stressed.

The junta as expected denied allegations of massive arrests and reported that only 64 protesters were arrested last week. A group of exiled Burmese, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, has issued a list naming at least 100 people it says were rounded up and tortured.

It is also reported that the junta is afraid that wave of protests in various parts of Burma might result to another “8-8-88” uprising. The August 08, 1988 is a historical event in Burma where thousands of people trooped to the streets of Rangoon but the junta arrested, killed and tortured them.

“History is repeating itself in Burma. Nothing has changed in Burma almost 2 decades after the bloody attack against a non-violent national uprising in 1988—the economy is down, corruption in government is rampant and respect to basic human rights is nil. But what is sure to change is that this outrage will surely lead to the Burmese people’s eventual liberation from the clutches of this brutal regime,” Miclat concluded.

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