愛污传媒

In what appeared to be an attempt to quash the remains of massive pro-democracy demonstrations, Burmese soldiers announced Wednesday they were hunting down protesters in Rangoon.

Meanwhile, scores of Burma's revered monks, who led many of the demonstrations, were said to be trying to flee the country.

In the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, military vehicles were patrolling the streets using loudspeakers to blast the warning: "We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!"

Shari Villarosa, the acting U.S. ambassador in Burma, told The Associated Press that military police were pulling people from their homes in the middle of the night and citizens of Burma's largest city were terrified.

"From what we understand, military police ... are travelling around the city in the middle of the night, going into homes and picking up people," she said.

CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from neighbouring Thailand since journalists are now banned from entering the country, said several young monks had made the escape across the border, telling horrific stories of the violent crackdown.

"They witnessed of course people being beaten up and arrested and had come across the border for safety, although they say they do want to go back," Workman told 愛污传媒net.

"But they had certainly come because they wanted to get out of Burma for at least a period of time and were being given some refuge in that part of Thailand."

There were reports that scores of monks were at the Rangoon railway station attempting to leave Wednesday, and bus drivers were refusing to take passengers out of town for fear they would be denied fuel.

Unlike in past conflicts in Burma that often triggered a large exodus of refugees to Thailand, Workman said it appears as though refugees were being prevented from reaching the border.

"We're not seeing in fact anybody coming over the bridge, any refugees, either from Rangoon or from other places," Workman said.

"Perhaps it is very difficult for them to get to that location. It is hard to know. There are roadblocks along the way, army checkpoints, but so far there is no wave of refugees coming seeking safety in Thailand with the exception of three young monks who passed over the border a couple of days ago."

Villarosa also said embassy staff had visited some monasteries this week and found them completely abandoned, while others had been barricaded by the military and were off limits to outsiders.

"There is a significantly reduced number of monks on the streets. Where are the monks? What has happened to them?" Villarosa said.

There are reports that hundreds of monks have been detained -- including about two dozen taken overnight -- and will be sent to prisons in the far north of the country.

Authorities have said 10 people were killed during the demonstrations, though diplomats and activists claim that number is much higher, and many protesters are missing and unaccounted for.

Included among the dead was a Japanese photographer whose body was returned home on Wednesday.

Canadians call for action

In Canada, New Democrat MP Paul Dewar joined others to call on the government to help bring an end to the conflict, saying "someone needs to catch those who are being pushed back by a brutal regime."

Tim Maung Htoo, of the group Canadian Friends of Burma, called the situation in Burma "appalling" and demanded the government take action.

"It's very, very clear that even after international pressures and even after international outreaches and outcry, the military is still arresting and beating thousands of monks across the country, especially in Rangoon," he said at the Ottawa news conference.

"We are here to express our concerns about the appalling situation in Burma, and at the same time we want to ask the Canadian government to do more and to take a stronger and firmer position against the military Junta."

He said his group is calling on the government to impose trade and economic sanctions on the Burmese military junta, and to begin intense diplomatic action.

Meanwhile, some degree of normalcy began to return to the streets of Rangoon Wednesday. Some shops opened and light traffic was visible on roads. However, Villarosa said deep-rooted issues were still unresolved.

"People are terrified, and the underlying forces of discontent have not been addressed," she said. "People have been unhappy for a long time ... Since the events of last week, there's now the unhappiness combined with anger, and fear."

With files from The Associated Press