New protests on Rangoon streets

The military presence has been intensified in central Rangoon Several hundred people have gathered in Burma's main city of Rangoon, despite three days of a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The demonstrators have been surrounded by security forces and pro-military vigilante groups, eyewitnesses said. The protesters are chanting slogans and taunting police, but no shots have so far been fired. The protest came as a UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was due to arrive in Rangoon. He is due to fly straight to the new Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, to hold key talks with the country's ruling generals. Eyewitnesses said that after a quiet morning in Rangoon, protesters have again gathered in the centre of the city. Some eyewitnesses told the BBC that more than 1,000 people were demonstrating against the government. Correspondents say the new protests will be a setback for the military government, which earlier declared via state media that peace and stability had been restored. They don't want the UN envoy to see the truth of the demonstrations in Burma Rangoon resident   There were isolated reports of new violence. According to the French news agency AFP, security forces charged a group of around 100 protesters on the Pansoedan bridge in central Rangoon. "They beat people so badly," one eyewitness told the agency. "I wonder how these people can bear it. I saw the security forces arrest about five people on the streets." It is not clear which members of the government Mr Gambari will be allowed to meet, though the White House said he should be allowed to meet "anyone he wants", including opposition figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi. On Saturday, the state-run New Light of Myanmar said "the security forces handled the situation with care using the least force". But a witness told the BBC that a number of people were killed in Friday's violence. Burmese officials said nine people were killed on Thursday, but the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said he believed the loss of life in Burma had been "far greater".