Yangon (AsiaNews) – Reporters and photographers covering for the past four days street protests in Yangon against fuel price increases said they had been harassed and intimidated by troops and pro-junta supporters. Media close to Myanmar’s opposition said that a foreign correspondent was thrown to the ground by a man who tried to take his camera and told him not to take pictures.
From Bangkok the Southeast Asian Press Alliance expressed its concern that the editors of local papers were interrogated by police, and that some of them told their own reporters not to cover the demonstrations.
Yesterday though for the third time in four days, dozens of pro-democracy militants took to the streets of Myanmar’s capital to protest against what they consider unjustified fuel price increases made on August 15.
Most of them are members of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrests for many years.
A few minutes after the demonstration began a gang of about 20 pro-junta supporters held the protesters back, pushing about ten into a truck which took them away despite attempts by their fellow protesters to form a human chain around the vehicle to stop the attackers.