A Swedish diplomat told the top UN rights body on Tuesday how he saw Burma's security forces fire at unarmed demonstrators in their crackdown on opposition dissent.
Johan Hallenborg of the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, told the 47-nation Human Rights Council that he and a colleague were eyewitnesses to "the regime's brutal crackdown on monks and civilians."
"We saw heavily armed security forces and soldiers open fire at unarmed civilians after giving them just a few minutes to disperse, leaving a foreign journalist dead in the streets," Hallenborg said. "We also witnessed people being chased down through alleys and shot at by military forces while fleeing."
He said that during the curfew hours of the night "desperate people" phoned international organizations to warn about monasteries about to be stormed by troops.
"Last Thursday, when for the first time there were no monks taking part in the demonstrations, I experienced how suddenly a handful of young monks protested all this madness and marched right into the main street, where there were at least 10,000 people gathered. These young monks were greeted as heroes."
Hallenborg said he regarded the monks as a symbol of "the incredibly brave people" of Burma "who show courage seemingly without limits."
He said the Burmese military government was arresting monks and civilians "under the most terrifying circumstances" and was "trying to instill complete and utter fear in yet another generation of citizens."
The Swedish diplomat thanked delegations for letting him "share some of these horrible eyewitness accounts so the world will get a better understanding of what is actually happening in one of the darkest places on the planet."
Johan Hallenborg of the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, told the 47-nation Human Rights Council that he and a colleague were eyewitnesses to "the regime's brutal crackdown on monks and civilians."
"We saw heavily armed security forces and soldiers open fire at unarmed civilians after giving them just a few minutes to disperse, leaving a foreign journalist dead in the streets," Hallenborg said. "We also witnessed people being chased down through alleys and shot at by military forces while fleeing."
He said that during the curfew hours of the night "desperate people" phoned international organizations to warn about monasteries about to be stormed by troops.
"Last Thursday, when for the first time there were no monks taking part in the demonstrations, I experienced how suddenly a handful of young monks protested all this madness and marched right into the main street, where there were at least 10,000 people gathered. These young monks were greeted as heroes."
Hallenborg said he regarded the monks as a symbol of "the incredibly brave people" of Burma "who show courage seemingly without limits."
He said the Burmese military government was arresting monks and civilians "under the most terrifying circumstances" and was "trying to instill complete and utter fear in yet another generation of citizens."
The Swedish diplomat thanked delegations for letting him "share some of these horrible eyewitness accounts so the world will get a better understanding of what is actually happening in one of the darkest places on the planet."
