Statement by Mr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar... 62nd session of the General Assembly, Third Committee, Item 70 (c)... 24 October 2007 New York..."Since the submission of my report, tragic events have been taking place in Myanmar since 15 August 2007 when the Government of Myanmar increased the retail price of fuel by up to 500 per cent. This decision, which was made without advance warning, has drastically affected the livelihoods of the people of Myanmar. The population, who has seen for the last years its standards of living curtailed, reacted to this state of affairs by staging a number of peaceful protests starting on 19 August, which culminated in large demonstrations from 18 September to 30 September, led by Buddhist monks with the participation of the 88 generation students, NLD parliamentarians, religious minorities and citizen, including women and children, as well as government officials. From 26 to 28 September, the security forces repressed peaceful demonstrators with the use of excessive force including shootings and severe beatings. As a result, people have been killed and thousands of them have been arrested. Many people remain still detained and I continue received alarming reports of death in custody, torture and disappearances. At the time of speaking, I have been able to verify, through different independent and reliable sources, allegations of the use excessive force by the security forces including live ammunitions, rubber bullets, teargas, bamboo and wood sticks, rubber batons and catapults (slingshots). This largely explains the killings and the severe injuries reported. The use of non-law enforcement officials and non-State armed groups alongside the security forces, including members' of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) as well as militia (Swan Ah Shin), is also of very serious concern..."