Burmese police charge student protesters, end week-long standoff

Hundreds of riot police charged at students protesting Burma's new education law on Tuesday, pummelling them with batons and then dragging them into trucks, bringing a quick, harsh end to a week-long standoff. Authorities said more than 120 people were arrested.

Police threw stones and jumped over fences as they broke up the demonstration. Dozens of students and monks were chased into a Buddhist monastery, said Honey Oo, a student leader.

"Many people were beaten and several arrested," she said by telephone.

After the crackdown, police were seen celebrating and shouting, "Victory! Victory!"

Information minister Ye Htut said 127 people, including 65 students, were detained and 16 policemen and eight demonstrators had been injured.

While there were no reported deaths, Tuesday's violence served as a reminder that Burma, also known as Myanmar, only recently began moving from a half-century of brutal military rule toward democracy. A European Union delegation that has been training Burma's police in crowd control issued a statement expressing deep concern over the use of force against protesters and calling for a formal investigation.

The nominally civilian government installed four years ago has been grappling with the consequences of new-found freedoms of expression. It has been especially sensitive about public protests, arresting hundreds of people since taking office for peacefully expressing their views.

In January, about a hundred students started protesting a new law that puts all decisions about education policy and curriculum in the hands of a group largely made up of government ministers, which critics say undermines the autonomy of universities.

The demonstrators were joined by monks and other activists, bringing their number to around 200 in the last nine days, when they started a sit-in on a road near a monastery in Letpadan, about 140 kilometres north of Rangoon, the country's biggest city.

They wanted to march to Rangoon, but security forces blocked them, forming a human chain and setting up barbed wire barriers.

Authorities warned "action would be taken" if they tried to go ahead.

Earlier Tuesday, the two sides had appeared close to reaching an agreement. Police said the students could march to a nearby town and then be transported to Rangoon in government-provided trucks, but then demanded that the protesters refrain from shouting slogans or waving flags along the way.

More than 400 police blocked the road. The protesters, many wearing red T-shirts and bandanas, tried to push their way through the riot police, dressed in helmets and camouflage fatigues. Some monks in maroon robes joined the students.

The police then turned on the students, chasing after them with batons and sticks. Associated Press photographers said some protesters were beaten in the head, punched and kicked as they were dragged to the waiting trucks.

Several protesters were arrested, including two student leaders, Min Thwe Thit and Phyo Phyo Aung.

Burma's government is especially sensitive about protests in Rangoon because the city was the scene of 1988 pro-democracy demonstrations that spread through the country, eventually leading to the collapse of the previous military junta.

The government has crushed several protests in and around Rangoon in the last week, usually by dragging demonstrators into trucks.