YANGON, Feb 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hundreds of thousands of anti-coup
protesters rallied across Myanmar again Monday after a clear threat from the junta that it was prepared to use lethal force to crush what it branded as
“anarchy”.
The warning came after three demonstrators were shot dead over the weekend, and the funeral on Sunday for a young woman who died from bullet wounds at an earlier rally.
International alarm continued to build, with the United Nations chief on
Monday condemning the military’s “brutal force”, and the European Union
announcing it was ready to impose sanctions on the junta.
Massive street demonstrations have taken place since Myanmar’s military
staged a coup on Feb 1 and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
ending a decade-long experiment with democracy.
A civil disobedience campaign has also since choked many government
operations, as well as businesses and banks, and the junta late Sunday gave
its most ominous signal yet that its patience was wearing thin.
“Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and
youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life,”
said a statement on state-run broadcaster MRTV.
The statement, read out in Burmese with text of the English version on the
screen, cautioned protesters against inciting “riot and anarchy”.
But protesters on Monday were undeterred by the warning, with hundreds of thousands rallying in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city and commercial hub.
“We came out today to join in the protest, to fight until we win,” said
Kyaw Kyaw, a 23-year-old university student.
“We are worried about the crackdown, but we will move forward. We are so angry.”
Residents had woken up Monday to a heavier security presence, including
police and military trucks on the roads and an embassy district barricaded.
Tens of thousands of professionals and public servants also rallied in
Naypyidaw, the capital and a military stronghold.
There were large protests in other cities, including Myitkyina and Dawei.
Myanmar’s generals had already responded to the uprising by gradually
ratcheting up the use of force, and the number of political prisoners. Troops
and police have used rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon and some live
rounds.
On the weekend, two people were killed when security forces fired at
protesters in the city of Mandalay, and a third man was shot dead in Yangon.
A young woman also died on Friday after being shot in the head at a protest
and spending almost a fortnight on life support.
The woman, whose funeral was held on Sunday, was the first confirmed
fatality of the protests, and she has emerged as a potent symbol of the anti-
junta movement.
Authorities have detained 640 people since the coup, according to the
monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Myanmar’s foreign ministry on Sunday justified its use of force against
protesters, and accused the United Nations and other governments of “flagrant interference” in the country’s internal affairs.
“Despite facing the unlawful demonstrations, incitements of unrest and
violence, the authorities concerned are exercising utmost restraint through
minimum use of force to address the disturbances,” it said in a statement.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has been one of the most outspoken critics of the
junta and on Monday he again spoke out forcefully, condemning the junta’s
“brutal force”.
“Today, I call on the Myanmar military to stop the repression immediately,”
he said in his annual address to the UN Human Rights Council.
“Release the prisoners. End the violence. Respect human rights, and the
will of the people expressed in recent elections.”
The United States, Canada and Britain have imposed sanctions on the
generals running Myanmar.
The European Union announced Monday it would add its weight to the
financial pressure, with the 27-nation bloc’s foreign ministers saying they
were ready to impose sanctions.
Washington also maintained its public campaign against the junta.
“The United States will continue to take firm action against those who
perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the
restoration of their democratically elected government,” US Secretary of
State Anthony Blinken tweeted. — NNN-AGENCIES