The US-based group Human Right Watch called on the government on Saturday to hold a thorough, independent investigation into the police raid on protesters who oppose a copper mine near Monywa in northwestern Burma. It said the officials responsible for the raid should be prosecuted, while victims should receive medical and legal support. The brutal crackdown last week injured dozens of protesters, many of them Buddhist monks who suffered severe burns. Meanwhile, several ethnic parties also voiced concern over the raid, with the Kachin Independence Organization and Rakhine Nationalities Development Party issuing statements on Sunday and Monday condemning police actions.