At least 18 protesters killed in Myanmar in worst violence since coup

[webfact]

At least 18 protesters killed in Myanmar in worst violence since coup

 

Protesters take cover as they clash with riot police officers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 28, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

 

(Reuters) - Myanmar police fired on protesters around the country on Sunday and at least 18 people were killed in the worst violence since a Feb. 1 military coup, the United Nations said, calling on the international community to act to stop the repression.

 

Crowds of demonstrators came under fire in various parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up their protests.

 

Across the country, protesters wearing plastic work helmets and with makeshift shields faced off against police and soldiers in battle gear, including some from units notorious for tough crackdowns on ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar's border regions.

 

"Severe action will be inevitably taken" against "riotous protesters", the state-run Global New Light Of Myanmar said. The army had previously shown restraint, but could not ignore "anarchic mobs".

 

Several wounded people were hauled away in Yangon by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after arriving at a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

 

"Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that – according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office – has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded," the U.N. human rights office said.

 

Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb. 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

 

The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries.

 

Among at least five killed in Yangon was internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, medics said. A day earlier he had asked on Facebook how many dead bodies it would take for the United Nations to take action.

 

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on its members to do more.

 

"The Secretary-General urges the international community to come together and send a clear signal to the military that it must respect the will of the people of Myanmar as expressed through the election and stop the repression,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

 

Teacher Tin New Yee died after police swooped to disperse a teachers' protest with stun grenades, sending the crowd fleeing, her daughter and a fellow teacher said.

 

Outside a Yangon medical school, doctors and students in white lab coats scattered after police hurled stun grenades. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested.

 

Three people were killed at Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. Two died in the second city of Mandalay, Myanmar Now media and a resident said. Resident Sai Tun told Reuters one woman was shot in the head.

 

Police and the spokesman for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Police broke up protests in other towns, including Lashio in the northeast, Myeik in the deep south and Hpa-An in the east, residents and media said.

 

'OUTRAGEOUS'

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force.

 

Nevertheless, at least 21 protesters have now died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman had been killed.

 

Defiance of the coup has emerged not just on the streets but more broadly in the civil service, municipal administration, the judiciary, the education and health sectors and the media.

 

Activists across Asia held protests in support, with the rallying cry "Milk Tea Alliance" which first united pro-democracy activists in Thailand and Hong Kong.

 

State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people were arrested on Saturday. It was not clear how many were detained on Sunday.

 

"We are heartbroken to see the loss of so many lives in Myanmar," the U.S. embassy said. The Canadian Embassy said it was appalled. Indonesia, which has taken a diplomatic lead within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the crisis, expressed deep concern.

 

Youth activist Esther Ze Naw said people were battling the fear they had lived with under military rule.

 

While some Western countries have imposed limited sanctions, the generals have traditionally shrugged off diplomatic pressure. They have promised to hold a new election but not set a date.

 

Suu Kyi's party and supporters said the result of the November vote must be respected.

 

Suu Kyi, 75, who spent nearly 15 years under house arrest, faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols. The next hearing in her case is on Monday.

 

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; additional reporting by Michelle Nichols; writing by Robert Birsel, Matthew Tostevin and Philippa Fletcher; editing by Jane Merriman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-01

 

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[rasmus5150]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Among at least five killed in Yangon was internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, medics said. A day earlier he had asked on Facebook how many dead bodies it would take for the United Nations to take action.

I'm afraid that the body-count (no matter how high) will not make the UN take any action in the near future.

It's like a nasty deja-vu for this beautiful country

[canopus1969]

And ASEAN sits back and does f*** all

[ikke1959]

No war is ever won without casualties.. Respect for those who give their lives for the sake of the idea's of freedom and democracy. You will be rewarded but there is a price to pay for it.. RIP

[sirwilly]

The only answer as far as I can see Is for the United Nations to move In and take control and return  democracy  to the people . 

[zzzzz]

26 minutes ago, sirwilly said:

The only answer as far as I can see Is for the United Nations to move In and take control and return  democracy  to the people . 

LOL:
what planet u live on ? The Tatmadaw will never give up power, and the UN is useless, as long as China will never vote for action regarding Burma.  what has clearly been shown over the past 6 years when they  tried democracy  when they held the 1st election and than the 2nd, they saw they were losing their grip so

Coup time.

Dont expect any elections in a year either...

 

 

[George Aylesham]

4 hours ago, rasmus5150 said:

I'm afraid that the body-count (no matter how high) will not make the UN take any action in the near future.

It's like a nasty deja-vu for this beautiful country

You are right - this is the Tatmadaw reverting to type. When I was working in Myanmar (Burma) in the early seventies the Tatmadaw killed up to 600 students protecting the body of ex- UN Secretary General U Thant. The had kidnapped the body and it was lying in state in the university when the military opened fire.

[spidermike007]

Do not count on the UN to do anything meaningful. These are very courageous people, going up against nasty, corrupt, power hungry, ridiculously greedy dinosaurs, commanding the army, and thirsty to hold onto power, despite the clearly stated will of the people. One can only hope that eventually, the tyrannosaurus crowd will get what is inevitably coming to them. One would love to see them prosecuted for crimes against humanity. It it likely the best we can hope for is deportation, and revocation of their citizenship. However, due to the fact that the top leadership are all billionaires, not sure how painful that "retirement" would be for them. 

[Walker88]

The news has to be more clear about the reason for the coup:

 

Tatmadaw seniors who were not high up enough during the SPDC years, and missed their chance to drink from the federal trough and get rich, want their chance now. It is all about money and power (whose benefit is money).

 

Obviously ASEAN will do nothing, as it is an impotent, do-nothing organization who sole purpose seems to be hosting periodic boondoggles. The UN and other countries will impose sanctions, but these will be obviated by China, who wants to control the natural resources of Myanmar and gain control over an India Ocean port that allows  China to ring-fence India (with their similar port in Gwadar, Pakistan).

 

It is difficult to say this, but the only actual answer is for some country or someone with resources to support the Myanmar freedom fighters with military resources that allow them to go toe-to-toe with the Tatmadaw. Shoot down military aircraft, ambush their caravans,  and assassinate the coup leaders is the only way to truly end it. The lower ranks of the Tatmadaw  are probably not on board with the coup, so could abandon their posts. Mid level officers would have fear put into them if suddenly SAM-7s or Stingers and other shoulder held surface-to-air weapons were knocking their planes and helicopters from the sky. Arming the Mujahideen drove the Russians from Afghanistan in the 1980s, and only something that dramatic is going to bring down the coup plotters.

 

Clearly this will not happen, and the Myanmar people will once again be under the thumb of self-serving miscreant military thugs.

[mlmcleod]

I am always amazed that conscript armies are used for coups!  It would seem to make sense that conscripts would not fire on the innocent!  I guess the USA learned that is not true during Kent State.

[GrandPapillon]

UN will do <deleted> all as usual, their only "peaceful" response, more international restrictions, which will make the people suffer, not the army generals

 

here we go for another 50 years of international embargo,

 

people never learn,

[Tropicalevo]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Do not count on the UN to do anything meaningful. These are very courageous people, going up against nasty, corrupt, power hungry, ridiculously greedy dinosaurs, commanding the army, and thirsty to hold onto power, despite the clearly stated will of the people. One can only hope that eventually, the tyrannosaurus crowd will get what is inevitably coming to them. One would love to see them prosecuted for crimes against humanity. It it likely the best we can hope for is deportation, and revocation of their citizenship. However, due to the fact that the top leadership are all billionaires, not sure how painful that "retirement" would be for them. 

I am not sure if you are talking about Burma or a country closer to home.

Many similarities

[bangon04]

13 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

And ASEAN sits back and does f*** all

ASEAN member Thailand  hosted a junta official from myanmar and gave him "advice" on dealing with the protests - shortly before this crackdown (coincidentally, of course)