8 August 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the '8888 Uprising' in Burma when the military killed an estimated 3,000 people following the outbreak of peaceful protests calling for democracy on 8 August 1988. In September 2007 the junta, which has a monopoly on fuel prices, raised the price of fuel from approximately US$1.40 to US$2.80 a gallon, and raised the price of natural gas 5 fold, resulting in students, opposition activists and monks taking peacefully to the streets to protest against the government. During this Saffron Revolution, hundreds of human rights defenders and protesters were detained and sentenced to long periods in prison. Others have been forced into hiding and exile. 
