YANGON, Aug 23: Pro-democracy supporters defied the junta in Myanmar to stage their third protest within a week on Thursday, underlining what analysts say is deepening public anger at crippling economic hardship.

Such public defiance on the streets to a government that deals harshly with dissent has not been seen in Myanmar in at least nine years, they said.

The protests were sparked by a massive hike in fuel prices last week, and have thrown a global spotlight on the isolated and impoverished country.

About 40 protesters, most of them from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), were on their way to party headquarters when about 20 members of the security forces and pro-government militia blocked their path.

The protesters tried to resist by forming a human chain on the pavement but they were yanked apart, thrown into trucks and carted off.

NLD spokesman Han Zaw said it had not been able to learn anything about the fate of the detained activists and called on the junta to free them.

“We urge the government to release the arrested people immediately and unconditionally,” it said. The NLD also demanded that the regime “explain to the public why it suddenly hiked energy prices.” The junta, which keeps a tight grip on the nation’s media, usually deals harshly with protesters.

About 100 people watched the confrontation in silence near downtown Yangon, the main city in the secretive country formerly known as Burma.

The scene was quickly over, but it was still the third time in a few days that people have dared take on the generals who run the country.

It followed a demonstration Wednesday by about 150 activists — cheered on by bystanders — who marched through the city in protest at last week’s fuel price hike, which doubled transport costs overnight.

About 500 people joined a similar march on Sunday.—AFP