Calls for Restraint

Myanmar's military junta is facing its biggest popular uprising against the regime in nearly 20 years as an estimated 10,000 protestors took to the streets of Yangon again Thursday.

The protestors were outraged by overnight raids on monasteries in which 100 monks were reportedly arrested. Protestors clashed with police near the Sule pagoda in the center of Yangon, the country's largest city. Police responded by firing warning shots. Smaller protests were also reported in other parts of the city and country Thursday.

As many as five protestors have reportedly been killed during the 10 days of unrest in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

European leaders voice concerns

This week the European Union began drawing up new sanctions against the Myanmar regime. The EU joined the United States in condemning "all violence against peaceful demonstrators and remind the country's leaders of their personal responsibility for their actions."

The EU has suggested it supports freezing assets and issuing visa bans for members of the Myanmar government.

In an unprecedented act, former Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and his one-time arch-foe Wojciech Jaruzelski issued a joint statement Thursday urging Myanmar to pursue a peaceful transition to democracy.

"In Myanmar, as in Poland, only a bloodless transition to democracy is in the interest of all," they said in a statement.

Walesa helped usher in a peaceful end of communism in 1989. General Jaruzelski declared martial law in the early 1980s and had Walesa arrested before later agreeing to talks.

"Those who were in power in Poland in 1989 ... believe it was a good decision that they had enough courage to surrender power in a democratic way," they said in a statement which other leaders from the era also signed.

Monasteries targeted by security forces

Witnesses told news agencies that government troops raided monasteries overnight Thursday and took away several hundred monks believed to be responsible for the protests. Monks, who have spearheaded the anti-government protests, are revered in the Buddhist country of 56 million.

"Doors of the monasteries were broken, things were ransacked and taken away," a witness told the Reuters news agency. "It's like a living hell seeing the monasteries raided and the monks treated cruelly."

The junta admitted Wednesday that one man was killed and three wounded when soldiers fired warning shots and tear gas at protestors. Opposition leaders say five people have been killed as soldiers and riot police used tear gas, warning shots and baton charges against monks and unarmed civilians.

The tipping point for the current unrest was the government's decision in mid-August to double fuel prices. Myanmar was relatively prosperous when it gained independence from Britain in 1945, but after 45 years of military rule and economic hardship, it is one of the world's poorest countries.

The recent protests have resulted in the largest anti-military uprising in nearly two decades. The international community fears that the protests will repeat those of a failed 1988 uprising, when troops ruthlessly suppressed a nationwide uprising, killing 3,000 people.

Calls for restraint in dealing with protestors

World leaders have called for restraint, with the United Nations Security Council holding an emergency session on the issue Wednesday afternoon.

"The regime has reacted brutally to people who were simply protesting peacefully," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he would dispatch special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to Southeast Asia. Rice urged generals to allow the UN convoy to visit the country and meet with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who lives under house arrest.

China could play an important role

Chinese officials have spoken privately to Myanmar generals and conveyed international concern, according to diplomats. China, who has close economic ties to the military regime, did not condemn the ongoing crackdown outright and vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions.

Initially, China had not wanted any document issued after Wednesday's closed-door security session, but relented and agreed to a brief statement which expressed the concern of the council and urged restraint.

"We hope all parties can exercise restraint and properly handle the situation there," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

Thursday's comments were the first time China had publicly called for restraint.

"As a neighbor, China is extremely concerned about the situation in Myanmar," she said.