Yangon (AsiaNews) – The death toll from the crackdown ordered by Myanmar's ruling junta against Buddhist monks and anti-regime protesters was at least 70 people, this according to the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), which said that the figure provided by UN special rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was fell far short of reality. The Reuters news agency also published an eyewitness account from an Australian BPF delegate who recently visited Myanmar posing as a tourist and spoke to activists and monks.

Jill Jameson entered Myanmar with two Thais and an American priest, talking to rights activists, monks, aid groups and social workers, who participated in the mid-August protest against higher fuel prices.

“We were told by a reliable source that there were 70 people who were killed after the demonstrations, while they were being detained,” she said. “We were told crematoriums were operating in the early hours of the morning between 1am and 4 am.”

“An English teacher monk at a monastic school and orphanage for 500 said” that since September “200 monks and novices [. . .] have not been heard.”

Soldiers are not only holding demonstrators in both official and unofficial prisons but also anyone who clapped their hands in the streets during the demonstrations or gave water and food to the monks.

Currently the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is reviewing the Pinheiro’s report on the September protests. Released on 7 December, the document estimated that at least 31 people were killed in the government crackdown.

Mr Pinheiro handed the Myanmar government a list of 653 detained, 74 who disappeared and 16 killed, plus a list of 15 killed provided by the authorities.

As expected Myanmar’s response came from its ambassador in Geneva, Wunna Maung Lwin, who countered that it was “disappointing that the report did not reflect the true situation on the ground and lacked objectivity and impartiality.”