Monks Protest In Burma

More than 100,000 barefoot Buddhist monks have taken to the street in Burma.

They’re marching from the Shwedagon Pagoda to the country’s largest city, Rangoon, protesting against the ruling junta.

A repressive military regime has ruled the country since 1962. It suppresses other political parties and organizations (gatherings of over five people can be against the law), has the judiciary in a stranglehold, and is notorious for sexual violence against enemies. Amnesty International has been concerned for a while.

Protests on this scale haven’t been seen since 1988 when widespread demonstrations for democracy were squashed with military force. The government killed thousands of monks and students.

These images of thousands of monks–people who have devoted their lives to reflection and meditation–marching peacefully for democracy as the Burmese military locks and loads, are nerve-racking and pretty powerful.

UPDATE: We’re going to be using ‘Burma’ and ‘Rangoon’ instead of ‘Myanmar’ and ‘Yangon’ for the same reasons TIME does. Also, thanks ray210 for the link to the U.S. Campaign for Burma.