Burmese anti-government protests

The 2007 Burmese anti-government protests are a series of anti-government protests that star in Burma (also known as Union of Myanmar) on August 15, 2007.

The immediate cause of the protests is mainly the unannounced decision of the ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council, to remove fuel subsidies which cause the price of diesel and petrol to suddenly rise as much as 100%, and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase fivefold in less than a week.

Led by students and opposition political activists, the protest demonstrations are at first dealt with quickly and harshly by the junta, with dozens of protesters arrested and detained.

Starting September 18, the protests have been led by thousands of Buddhist monks, and those protests are allowed to proceed until a renewed government crackdown on September 26.

During the crack-down, there are rumors of disagreement within the Burmese military, but none are confirmed.

Some news reports refer to the protests as the Saffron Revolution.