The protests and violent government crackdown in Myanmar is showing few signs of letting up.
Times of London reporter Nick Meo, reporting from the Myanmar-Thailand border, says dissidents expect the protests to start up again, despite government efforts to arrest and suppress the country's revered Buddhist monks. The few people who have fled across the Thai border say that a long and sustained struggle will be necessary to topple the junta in Myanmar.
Meo says one of the defectors he spoke to was an officer in the Myanmar army. As a devote Buddhist, the officer was unable to bring himself to give the order to attack the monks, who have led the protests.
The officer says he is not alone in his dissent, according to Meo. The military officer estimated that most of the officers opposed the crackdown, but Myanmar's Senior Gen. Than Shwe is supported by a "hard core" of loyal officers. Still, Meo says, the military officer believed that mutiny is possible if the crackdown continues or if the army is forced to attack the monks again.
Meo speaks with Alex Chadwick about the protests and government crackdown.
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