As many as 100,000 people on Monday took to the streets of Rangoon, Burma’s former capital city, in the largest demonstration seen in the country since the August 1988 pro-democracy protests that ended in a bloody crackdown.

The protest came as calls grew for the generals who govern Burma to maintain their restraint they have shown over the past week as daily protests led by Buddhist monks against the economic hardship facing ordinary Burmese have grown.