The sister of a Buddhist monk imprisoned by Burma's military rulers for
pro-democracy activities says her brother is on a hunger strike.
Khin
Thu Htay tells VOA Burmese service that monk Ashin Gambira began the
hunger strike 10 days ago after prison authorities blocked him from
seeing her and other family members. She says the family tried to visit
him at a prison in the central region of Mandalay.
The sister
says Burmese authorities told her that several days later, Gambira was
transferred to another prison Hkamti in a remote part of the
northwestern Sagaing region.
Courts in military-run Burma sentenced the monk last year to 68 years in prison for leading pro-democracy protests in 2007.
Burmese
citizens began weeks of mass protests against the military in June 2007
before authorities crushed the demonstrations. The United Nations says
at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the
crackdown.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
