Indian Buddhist monks express solidarity with their Burmese counterparts

Indian Buddhist monks on Sunday held a sit-in against the violent crackdown of pro-democracy demonstrators in Myanmar and expressed solidarity with their counterparts in Myanmar, who are facing repression by the military junta there.

New Delhi, Sept 30 : Indian Buddhist monks on Sunday held a sit-in against the violent crackdown of pro-democracy demonstrators in Myanmar and expressed solidarity with their counterparts in Myanmar, who are facing repression by the military junta there.

Dozens of monks, chanted religious verses and held placards against the Myanmar's military rule in the heart of the national capital.

Myanmar has seen hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks protesting in the country calling for democracy and an end to the military government.

Nearly two weeks of protests on the streets of Yangon, initially led by saffron-robed clad monks, have provoked a staunch reaction from the government, with at least nine people being reportedly killed in violent repression.

"We protest against the military government, violence in Burma, many Buddhist monks are arrested and killed, so we (are) against the military government. Today we are appealing for peace...," said Oben Nomra, a Buddhist monk.

The monks here also expressed their dissatisfaction over non-intervention by India.

On Saturday, Myanmar refugees in New Delhi had carried out a march here urging the Indian Government to intervene.

Although New Delhi initially supported Nobel laureate Aung Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, it changed its strategy in the early 1990s to court the military regime in what is seen as an effort to counter rival China.

ANI