A/HRC/6/14 page 4 Introduction 1. On 15 August 2007, the Government of Myanmar increased the retail price of fuel by up to 500 per cent. This decision has drastically affected the livelihoods of the people of Myanmar. The population, which has seen its standards of living severely curtailed over the last few years, reacted strongly to this decision and started small peaceful demonstrations throughout August and into early September. On 5 September during a demonstration in Pakokku a number of monks were beaten up. The population and the monks, dissatisfied with this action, continued expressing their discontent over economic living conditions and undertook large peaceful demonstrations from 18 to 26 September across the country including in Yangon, Mandalay, Pakokku and Sittwe. 2. From 26 to 29 September, the State and its agents cracked down severely on peaceful demonstrators. Through the lens of the international media, the world witnessed killings, severe beatings and mass arrests of people. During the crackdowns, the security forces comprising police and army or riot police (Lone Htein), as well as members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the Swan Ah Shin (SAS) militia, used excessive force against civilians, including unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force. 3. Following the crackdowns, several reports of killings, severe beatings and arrests were received as well as allegations of torture, deaths in custody, relatives of people in hiding being taken hostage and lack of access to medical treatment for the wounded. Allegations were also received that the bodies of some of the people reportedly killed during the crackdown had been burned. The Government of Myanmar provided figures that, for many independent observers, may have underestimated the real impact of the repression. I. METHODOLOGY AND ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR 4. The Special Rapporteur undertook a five-day visit to Myanmar, from 11 to 15 November 2007, at the invitation of the Government. He would like to express his gratitude to the Government for its hospitality and for having accommodated his proposed agenda and shared with him several records and written chronologies of the events, as well as providing access to most of the places he had asked for. The Special Rapporteur stresses that his mission cannot be considered as a fully fledged fact-finding mission. The conditions for an independent and confidential investigation mission would require a different framework. In this context, the Special Rapporteur notes that his mission should be seen as an initial part of a process and that the authorities have expressed willingness for him to return on follow-up missions. 5. In the new capital, Nay Pyi Taw, the Special Rapporteur met with Major General Maung Oo, Minister of Home Affairs; U Nyan Win, Minister of Foreign Affairs; U Aung Kyi, Minister of Labour and Liaison Minister with the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD); U Soe Tha, Minister for National Planning and Economic Development; Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung, Minister of Religious Affairs and U Zaw Min, Joint Secretary-General of the USDA. He further participated in a round table with 20 members of