PINK POWER:

Record numbers join Burmese protests (Ian MacKinnon, September 24, 2007, Guardian Unlimited)

As many as 100,000 demonstrators protesting against the Burmese military regime took to the streets of Rangoon today in the biggest show of dissent in almost two decades.

Tens of thousands of Buddhist monks and pink-robed nuns led the marchers, who snaked for several kilometres through the former capital, slowing traffic to a crawl and prompting the closures of shops and schools.

The monks carried flags and banners proclaiming the peaceful nature of the demonstration. Flanking them were even greater numbers of people clapping and chanting, in what many described as a carnival atmosphere.

The mood of elation in the ranks, which swelled to unprecedented numbers on the sixth straight day of marches sparked by fuel price rises, reflected surprise that the generals have shown restraint and not crushed the anti-government movement.