A lethal attack on anti-coup protesters in Myanmar sparked fresh UN condemnation of the country’s new military regime yesterday, as mourners held a funeral for a young woman who became a national symbol of resistance to the junta.
Authorities have gradually ratcheted up their tactics against a massive and largely peaceful civil disobedience campaign demanding the return of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Saturday marked the deadliest day so far in more than two weeks of nationwide street demonstrations after two people were killed when security forces fired upon a rally, while a third man was shot dead in Yangon overnight.
Photo: AFP
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the use of “deadly violence” against the crowd in Mandalay.
“The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” Guterres wrote.
Security forces in the country’s second-largest city had attempted to raid a shipyard and detain port staff on strike to protest against the army takeover.
Medical rescue workers said troops used live rounds and rubber bullets against a crowd of people who had started flinging rocks in an effort to stop the arrests.
In a separate incident on Saturday, a 30-year-old man was killed in Yangon while patrolling the neighborhood as part of an initiative to guard against night-time arrests of activists.
Tin Htut Hein’s sister-in-law said he had been shot by police.
“His wife is now heartbroken,” she said. “They have a four-year-old son.”
Large crowds yesterday returned to the streets of Mandalay, undeterred by the previous day’s violence, with rallies also staged further south in Yangon.
In the capital, Naypyidaw, a funeral service was held for a young protester who died on Friday after being shot in the head during a rally last week.
Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, who turned 20 last week as she lay unconscious in a hospital bed, has since become a potent symbol of the campaign against military rule.
A large motorbike guard of honor accompanied her funeral procession, alongside vehicles adorned with floral wreaths and large photographs of the grocery store worker.
Early yesterday, police also arrested a famous actor, Lu Min, who has been a prominent figure in Yangon protests and was one of six celebrities wanted under an anti-incitement law for encouraging civil servants to join the protest.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 569 people have been detained in connection with the coup.
Meanwhile, Facebook deleted the main page of the Burmese military under it standards prohibiting the incitement of violence, the company said.
“In line with our global policies, we’ve removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team Page from Facebook for repeated violations of our Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm,” a Facebook representative said in a statement.
The Burmese military is known as the Tatmadaw.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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