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Excerpts from thisislondon:

Burma’s protesting monks have been been baton-charged and sprayed with tear gas after they defied the military’s ban on demonstrations.
Burma’s military leaders imposed the curfew and banned gatherings of people after 35,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters defied warnings and staged another day of anti-government protests yesterday.
Signs that dictator General Than Shwe was preparing to defy worldwide opinion and crush the protesters emerged late last night as the military government banned all assemblies and issued a curfew.

With the first beatings of the monks, the scene was set for what many fear could be a massacre of pro-democracy campaigners. Tens of thousands have joined the monks in the past few days.
George Bush condemned the military rulers for imposing a “a 19-year reign of fear” and the UN human rights investigator for Burma said he feared “very severe repression”.
One monk said: “The protest is not merely for the wellbeing of people, but also for monks struggling for democracy and for people to have an opportunity to determine their own future.”