Myanmar's ruling military, apparently wary of igniting another outbreak of mass demonstrations, tried to quash rumors yesterday that fuel rations would be slashed in the face of rising global oil prices.
A sudden hike in fuel prices last year led to protests that ballooned into anti-government street protests that were brutally crushed by the military.
A report in the state-owned New Light of Myanmar yesterday said that rationing of gasoline, diesel and compressed natural gas will remain the same.
As fuel prices increase worldwide, rumors have been rampant in Yangon that instead of increasing fuel prices, the government might reduce the ration for private-car owners to 3.8 liters from 7.6 liters a day.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, suffers from a constant gasoline shortage because of limited domestic oil production and meager foreign exchange reserves.
Gasoline and diesel has been sold under a rationing system in the country's major city, Yangon, since 1980. Each car has a ration book, allowing car owners to purchase 227 liters per month.
Since November, the government has slashed the gasoline and diesel quotas of senior civil servants by at least 75 percent.
Last August, the government imposed a surprise 100 percent to 500 percent price hike on vehicle fuel at state-owned gas stations, triggering the most sustained challenge to the junta in nearly two decades.
During the last week of September, troops crushed the protests, which were led by Buddhist monks, killing an unknown number of demonstrators.
They also raided monasteries and arrested thousands of monks and lay people.
The regime said 10 people were killed during the crackdown, but Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a senior UN human rights official, said at least 31 died in the former capital Yangon.
Human rights groups say the death toll was far higher.
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