Myanmar demonstrations are growing stronger as approximately 30,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and laymen participated at the seventh consecutive day of the barefoot protest march on Monday against the country's military regime.

Scores of monks gathered at the Shwedagon Pagoda by noon before heading to other holy places of Myanmar’s former capital. In their way, about 5000 monks passed by the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the country’s opposition party led by Nobel peace winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The party members present at the H.Q. cheered as the monks passed them by.

Suu Kyi is held under arrest since May, 2003. Two days ago the monks visited her there, but in the mean time the road which leads to Suu Kyi’s house was barricaded to prevent another visit, eyewitnesses said.

Although this is the seventh consecutive day of the protest march, no violence has been reported yet. However, on Monday a clash between the two sides seemed imminent as the laymen who joined the protest were roughed up by government-loyal thugs, who took their posters with political slogans written on them.

The pro-government generals face delicate problem. If they crush the protesters, there’s a very high risk of an explosion of popular anger; if they allow them to continue, the protests are likely to become unstoppable.

"I think that the people are getting bolder, to get involved much more than previously. And, in our country, the monks are the highest moral authority in society," said opposition spokesman Soe Aung, who is exiled in Thailand.

Monday’s protesters were way more numerous then the day before, when about 10,000 laymen connected with approximately 3,000 marching monks and 300 nuns in their attempt to determine the ruling regime to free opposition leader Suu Kyi.

It seems that the order given by the military-controlled Buddhist clergy, the Sangha Nayaka Committee, to the capital’s temples to send all visiting monks back to their provinces increased the protesters zeal and determined many of those who supported them to now join them.

Numerous protester monks are from temples outside of the Yangon and they found them selves in the middle of the riot while attending their studies in the former capital or just visiting.

Western diplomats believe a clash between the military forces still loyal to the government and the monks is inevitable.

"We expect some kind of a resolution in the next few days," said one Western diplomat. "Either the protests go up or go down, but it can't go on like this."

Myanmar’s monkhood it’s not at its first attempt to destabilize the country’s military rule.
The last pro-democracy uprising in 1988, initiated by students and supported by monks, was cruelly put down by the army and some 3,000 people were killed.