MAE SOT , Thailand ( CNN ) -- Exchanging his sacred Bhuddist robes for a crucifix and his black-colored hair for bleached-blonde , 24-year-old Ashin Kovida found freedom in neighboring Thailand and escaped authorities within Myanmar 's oppressive military regime intent on hunting down the pro-democracy leader . Ashin Kovida made a narrow escape from Myanmar 's military regime . `` The soldiers started shooting and I had a narrow escape , I saw monks being beaten , '' he told CNN , describing his exit . His main offense ? Acting as a key organizer of protest marches that slowly escalated until thousands took to the streets in a movement underscoring the people 's desire for pro-democracy leadership . The uprising , dubbed the Saffron Revolution for the monks ' saffron-colored robes , lasted for several weeks before being snuffed out by the iron hand of the ruling junta . The protests were initially sparked by a huge fuel price increase imposed by the military government . They quickly became much more . Video smuggled out of the secretive country has shown unarmed protesters being beaten by government security forces , and one man -- believed to be a Japanese journalist -- shot and killed at close range . U.N. envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has said as many as 110 people were believed to have been killed during the demonstrations -- including 40 Buddhist monks -- and 200 others beaten . The regime has since admitted to detaining more than 2,900 people , but hundreds more remain in custody , some facing deplorable conditions . Myanmar 's humanitarian crisis has sparked international outrage , concern , attention and brought new focus to Aung San Suu Kyi , the Nobel laureate who has been under house arrest on and off for nearly 20 years in Yangon , the country 's biggest city . Pitting his Buddhist faith against Myanmar 's oppressive military regime , Kovida described what inspired him to take a stand . `` I was an ordinary monk , but then I heard about the death in Bokoku I was surprised no monks came onto the streets , '' he said , describing an incident in the town of Bokoku in which one monk was publicly beaten to death at a rally . `` So I wrote to other monasteries . We had a committee of fifteen who organized the protests . '' The movement grew until the army cracked down , arresting hundreds and circulating posters showing Kovida marching at the front of the demonstration . He is wanted by Myanmar 's military government , which accuses him of hatching a bomb plot he denies . The Buddhist faith has given Kovida a quiet determination that eventually the military regime in Myanmar will be overthrown , but he has also called on the United Nations to step into the political fray where most citizens and monks dare to go no more . `` Our blood is on the street , most of the monasteries are empty . I ca n't estimate how many people in prison . When will U.N. Security Council take action ? '' asked Kovida . The U.N. has already sent Ibrahim Gambari , the special envoy for Myanmar , and he is expected to return to Myanmar this week . The enovy met earlier in October with the military junta leadership as well as with Suu Kyi , who has been the voice of democracy since 1989 , when her National League for Democracy won the country 's first free multiparty elections . The military junta refused to hand over power and has kept her under tight wraps ever since . In addition , U.N. envoy Pinheiro has been cleared to visit Myanmar for a fact-finding mission into reports of human rights violations during the September crackdown . `` I have been able to verify , through different independent and reliable sources , allegations of the use of excessive force by the security forces , including live ammunitions , rubber bullets , tear gas , bamboo and wood sticks , rubber batons and catapults ( slingshots ) , '' he said . `` This largely explains the killings and the severe injuries reported . '' He plans to arrive in Myanmar sometime before November 17 , the date of the summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations . The humanitarian rights situation in Myanmar has also caught the attention of U.S. first lady Laura Bush who -- in a rare foray into foreign policy -- penned a commentary calling on the military junta to give up the `` terror campaigns '' against its people and allow democracy . `` Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies are a friendless regime , '' Bush said in her article , published in the Oct. 10 edition of the Wall Street Journal . `` They should step aside to make way for a unified Burma ( Myanmar ) governed by legitimate leaders . '' CNN 's Dan Rivers and Tess Eastment contributed to this report .
A key leader of the protest marches in Myanmar escapes to Thailand . Tells them how he had a narrow escape after seeing monks being tortured . He believes the military regime in Myanmar will eventually be dismantled .