Burmese community hunger strike enters second day

Hunger striker Banyar Aye said: “We are going without food for two days to draw attention to the plight of the Burmese people.

“The situation in our country has reached a critical point. Intervention from the UN and support from Australia are essential if we are to free ourselves and restore democracy and human rights.

“Ours is a nation in mourning for the people killed. The military dictatorship has turned the streets of Rangoon into a slaughterhouse and turned loose the paid thugs to beat and humiliate the monks and the protestors.

“The prisons are full. Many monks being held illegally in detention are badly wounded and in need of medical attention but they are refusing any assistance from the military,” Banyar Aye said.

A second hunger striker, Min Thet Naing said: “Those countries that believe in democracy and human rights have an obligation to the people of Burma not to turn their backs on us.

“The monks and the students have staked their lives on bringing the military dictatorship to an end and restoring democracy and human rights.

“Our hunger strike is a plea to the UN and to the democratic nations to increase the pressure on the Burmese and to make sure that this time there is real change in Burma,” said Min Thet Naing.