The Monks Are Cut Off, and Burmese Clashes Ebb

By SETH MYDANS

BANGKOK, Sept. 28 — Myanmar’s armed forces appeared on Friday to have sealed tens of thousands of protesting monks inside their monasteries, but they continued to attack bands of demonstrators who challenged them in the main city, Yangon.

Witnesses and diplomats reached by telephone inside the country said troops were confronting and attacking smaller groups of civilians around Yangon, chasing them through narrow streets and sometimes firing at protesters and arresting them.

“Today has been quieter than previous days, meaning far fewer protesters came out, but the military is being very quick to use violence, tear gas, guns and clubs to break it up,” said Shari Villarosa, the chief diplomat at the United States Embassy.

Diplomats said that there was no way to know the toll of dead and wounded in Yangon or other cities, but that it was certainly far higher than the junta says.

Bob Davis, Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar, said that based on unconfirmed reports, he was sure the death toll was “several multiples of the 10 acknowledged by the authorities.”

“I am afraid we believe the loss of life is far greater than is being reported,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said.

Human rights and exile groups with contacts in Myanmar said they had fewer clashes to report on Friday, at least partly because of an apparent government clampdown on Internet and telephone communications.

Brutal attacks on monasteries and a heavy military presence outside their gates appeared to have choked off, at least for now, the huge demonstrations led by monks that are the most serious challenge to the military junta since it took power in 1988.

Exile groups passed on many vivid reports about brutality toward monks, many of whom were reportedly driven away in trucks. Soldiers were said to have prevented others from leaving the monasteries.

“Wednesday night, numerous monasteries were raided,” Ms. Villarosa said, “and we have reports that many monks were beaten and arrested, and we have pictures where whole monasteries have been trashed,” including images of blood and broken glass.

With the monks contained, another Western diplomat said, the demonstrations seemed to have lost their focus, and soldiers were quick to pounce on any group that appeared on the streets.

“Troops are chasing protesters and beating them and taking them away in trucks,” said the diplomat, speaking anonymously under embassy policy. “There are pockets of protesters left. They are unorganized, and it’s all very small-scale.”

Even if the junta clears the streets, it seems to have turned most of the world against it. The crackdown has drawn far more intense criticism than in 1988, when the military responded to protests by killing thousands.

Nor was it clear how the junta would recover any legitimacy at home. “The military is doing their best to frighten people into going back, but they are not doing anything about the underlying grievances,” Ms. Villarosa said. “Whether they will ultimately be successful, I doubt, because the grievances are real.”

Heavy pressure from the United Nations has forced the military to allow a visit from a special United Nations envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. He is expected to reach Myanmar on Saturday.

In Washington, President Bush thanked China, Myanmar’s leading trade partner, for helping persuade the junta to allow the visit.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said that he had spoken with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, and that they had agreed to work on international efforts to solve the crisis.

“I asked that China, given its close ties with Myanmar, exercise its influence, and Prime Minister Wen said he would make such efforts,” Mr. Fukuda said.

Reuters reported that Japan would send an envoy to Myanmar to investigate the death of a videojournalist, Kenji Nagai. A videotape shows that Mr. Nagai, who was killed Thursday while filming protests near the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, may have been shot at close range.

The current crisis began on Aug. 19, after the government increased fuel prices overnight by as much as 500 percent without any announcement or explanation. The increases ignited scattered protests led at first by longtime dissidents, most of whom had been involved in the protests of 1988. The demonstrations revealed the deep discontent and anger over the junta’s economic mismanagement.

In 45 years of military rule — and 19 years under this junta — Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has become a ragged, suffering nation, one of the poorest and most repressed in Asia.

The crowds grew much larger after Sept. 18, when huge columns of monks filled the streets and residents joined them by the tens of thousands. The demonstrations swelled to as many as 100,000 monks and supporters in Yangon alone.

Defying international warnings and condemnation, the government crackdown began Wednesday morning with raids on several monasteries and the appearance of an aggressive armed force on the streets.