For the sixth consecutive day Buddhist monks marched barefooted through the streets of Myanmar’s largest city in protest against the military junta, which surprised this time by allowing the saffron-robed monks to hold their peaceful marches.

Until now, protests were quickly crushed by government troops, but the junta has refrained so far from any violent actions that might spark the people’s anger.

More than 3,000 monks and 300 nuns began Sunday’s protest march, but they were joined by an impressive number of supporters and a sea of nearly 15,000 people swept the streets of Yangon.

People feared that authorities would break up the protest marches and decided to watch the demonstrations until the last two days. Monks and laymen defied the regime and driving rain on Sunday to express their discontent over the soaring fuel prices and inflation.

The march ended at around 6:00 p.m., as the monks and their supporters dispersed and didn’t head for the home of pro-democracy activist and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The monks visited Suu Kyi on Saturday at her home, where she has been under arrest for more than four years. Suu Kyi greeted the monks and with teary eyes encouraged them to continue their protest.

That was her first public appearance in years, an additional sign that this movement could bring a long-expected change in one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia. “Untruth will be overcome by truth,” and “Injustice will be overcome by justice,” were the words written on several banners carried by monks during the unprecedented protest march.

It seems Suu Kyi’s appearance and her words influenced the monks and their protest got a political tone for the first time since they began demonstrating against the military regime in August.

The plummeting economy and rising fuel prices were the main issues that unleashed the anger of people, who took to the streets to express their discontent on August 15. But the rebellion was quickly crushed into submission by authorities, who detained more than 100 activists who were allegedly coordinating the demonstrations.

The protest didn’t end there as monks took over and began marching through the streets of Yangon and several other major cities. The junta has a tough decision to make, because an eventual crack down would unleash a nationwide wrath, but the continuous protests threaten to snowball into another uprising.

The non-violent movement hasn’t received the official support of Myanmar's Buddhist leaders, but factions of the 400,000-strong monkhood have progressively joined the action and defied the iron-fisted regime.

Throughout time, monks joined the political struggle in Myanmar. Nearly two decades ago a similar protest initiated by students and supported by monks was quelled through brute force, about 3,000 people being killed by the army.

After the bloodbath of 1988, some foreign investors were allowed to operate in the Asian country, but the people's discontent continues to rise hand in hand with inflation.