Led by prominent 88 generation student leaders over 2,000 Burmese gathered on the second day of the candle light prayer ceremony on Monday in the midst of tight security in Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon, according to campaigners.

The week-long prayer meeting began on Sunday morning and will continue till November 4 in Buddhist pagodas across Burma.

Nay Tin Myint, an active 88-student leader based in Rangoon told Mizzima that “Security personnel are every where and they tried to block every entrance to the Pagoda”.

He also said that, security personnel including Rangoon division police, pagoda security and home security were spread out and watched every move around the pagoda and its surrounding areas.

“We began at 9 a.m. and concluded at 9:30 a.m. but some veteran politicians and diplomats from different embassies came and continued the prayer meeting”, Nay Tin Myint said.

“We heard that the police blocked the way and stopped people going to the Pagoda in Mandalay, but people gathered in their homes and held the prayer meeting,” he added.

However, there is no recent report of people who took part in the prayer meeting being arrested in Burma. The enquiries are still on though, said Nay.

Meanwhile, people from different religious sects in Burma gathered and prayed for peace and showed solidarity with the student movement in mosques, temples and churches.

“We gave notice to all religious sects. Last Friday, believers in Islam prayed in mosques and Christians in churches yesterday”, said Nay Tin Myint.

The candle light prayer meet was meant for the release of political prisoners including Burmese democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, recently detained student leaders including Min Ko Naing, long term ethnic political prisoners and recent flood victims in Burma, he added.

The 88 generation students collected more than 530,000 signatures countrywide for the release of their leaders and other political prisoners from October 2 to October 23 in Burma.