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Demonstrators weathered clouds and rain in Vancouver to show their support for dissidents in Burma.

The protest was part of dozens of demonstrations around the world condemning the Burmese government's crackdown on reformist protesters in the country also known as Myanmar.

Vancouver organizer Deanna Scott promised that she and others would continue to share stories they were told by Burmese dissidents during a visit to Thailand. 

Rallies were also held on Saturday for Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, and Ottawa.

"I think it was mainly important to do this because we have the freedom to do this," one protester in Halifax told Â鶹ӰÊÓ.

She added bluntly: "In Burma they don't."

The junta's violent crackdown of peaceful protests has ignited pro-democratic support from the international community. Human-rights group Amnesty International organized marches in more than two dozen Asian, European and North American cities.

More than 3,000 people demonstrated in central London while 250 Burmese expatriates took to the streets outside the Sydney Opera House in Australia. In Taiwan, activists braved battling winds and rain calling for detainees to be released by the Burmese government.

Other rallies are scheduled for New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, England, France, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland and the United States.

In London's Trafalgar Square, Amnesty International chief Irene Khan declared: "Burma is not a human rights emergency of today, last week or last month. It is a human rights emergency that the world has chosen to forget for the last 20 years. We will not forget this time round, we will not let the people of Burma down.''

Canadian freelance journalist Chris Johnson told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet on Saturday that the monks -- who are revered in the predominantly Buddhist country -- are aware of the global support for their plight.

"I've spent the morning in a monastery speaking with some monks and they were watching cable television from Thailand where they could see networks from around the world," Johnson said in a phone interview from Burma, also known as Myanmar.

"This is how information is coming into the country because the government of course is not saying anything about what the world really thinks."

Junta continues hunt for monks

Anti-government protests began in mid-August over a fuel price increase. The demonstrations swelled into Burma's largest anti-government protests in almost two decades, spearheaded by thousands of monks marching in the streets of Rangoon and Mandalay.

Activists were detained, monasteries raided and least 10 people were killed as a result of the government "systematically controlling" the protesters, state broadcasters have reported. However, dissidents estimate the death tool could be as high as 200 with more than 6,000 actually taken into custody.

Underground prayer vigils were held throughout Burma on Saturday as those associated involved in the "saffron revolt" were encouraged to do by a Buddhist monk interviewed by Radio Free Asia's Myanmar-language service.

Late Friday evening, state television said most of the 2,100 people detained had been freed except for 109 monks who remain in custody. The report noted that the government was still hunting monks believed to be the ringleaders of the demonstrations.

"Monks all over the country are in hiding. They've gone away from Rangoon and Mandalay and are hiding in the mountains or in smaller villages," Johnson said on Saturday.

"Many of the monks are taking off their red monastic robes and switching to ordinary clothing and growing their hair out to hide their identities. Some of them are trying to escape to Thailand and other countries as well."

UN briefed

International condemnation of the junta's brutality intensified this week with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling Saturday for a ban on future investment in Burma.

"The anger of the world has been expressed about the outrages that have taken place against the people of Burma,'' Brown said during a televised meeting with Buddhist monks gathered in his 10 Downing St. office.

On Friday, the United States and its allies were briefed on the UN's special envoy's four-day tour of the troubled nation.

During a closed-door meeting of the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad said if the junta does not respond to the demands of the international community, "the U.S. is prepared to introduce a resolution in the Security Council imposing sanctions." He cited a possible arms embargo.

While relative stability has returned to the isolated country, reports from inside Burmese borders are bleak, highlighting the escalating economic consequences citizens now face.

"Thais are afraid to come over here and do business because they've seen the bad news on TV. This is happening not only here, but all around Burma on the borders. People are very dependent on trade with Thailand, China and India," Johnson said.

"In addition to this, the value of their currency has dropped about 70 per cent in the last year. It means that the cost of living has almost doubled and at the same time, wages are very low. Construction workers here make about a dollar a day or two dollars a day. So they are really feeling isolated and feeling hard hit by the crackdown."

With files from The Associated Press