YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – At least two people protesting last month’s military coup were reported Tuesday by gunfire by security forces after a morning of peaceful marches in parts of Myanmar.
Security forces have killed dozens of their compatriots in recent days and the UN has put the death toll at 149 nationwide since the February 1 coup that toppled Aung’s elected government. San Suu Kyi.
The Independent Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners said 183 people have been killed since the coup.
Violence was reported on Tuesday in the largest city, Yangon, where the casualties have been the highest. Police fired rubber bullets at several neighborhoods and reported the death of a man. Another murder was reported in the town of Kawlin, northwest of the Sagaing region.
UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said at least 11 people died on Monday, adding up to 57 dead over the weekend. Although there were many more reports of homicides, he was unable to corroborate them.
“The killing of protesters, arbitrary detentions and allegations of torture against prisoners violate fundamental human rights and clearly challenge the Security Council’s calls for containment, dialogue and a return to the democratic path of Myanmar,” he said. the UN Secretary General, António Guterres.
The coup reversed years of slow progress towards democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to isolation and international sanctions.
Recently, protesters in some areas have used tactics aimed at preventing violent clashes. On Tuesday, social media reports said there were candlelight marches before sunrise in Mawlamyaing, Mon state, southeast Myanmar.
Another tactic has been to use the posters as representatives of human protesters, placing them in rows in public places. This tactic was used by a group of engineers from the second largest city, Mandalay, in central Myanmar.
On Tuesday in Monywa and Ye-U, in central Myanmar, Loikaw City, east of Kayaw, and Kalaw, east of Shan Shan, also in the east, more conventional peaceful protests were held than they have occurred daily without incident.
Complicating efforts to organize new protests and media coverage, mobile internet service was slashed Sunday night, although access was still available via fixed broadband connections.
The mobile data service had been used to broadcast live video coverage of protests, which often showed security forces attacking protesters. It had previously been turned off only from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. for several weeks, with no official explanation.
Sunday’s violence in Yangon, virtually all by police, resulted in the highest death toll in a single day since the coup. Myanmar’s governing board declared martial law in much of the city.
The announcements of martial law said that the Board, formally called the State Administrative Council, acted to improve security and restore law and order, and that the Yangon regional commander has been entrusted with administrative, judicial powers. and military in the area under his command. Orders cover six of Yangon’s 33 municipalities.
The largest violence and most deaths were recorded in Yangon municipality, Hlaing Thar Yar, an industrial area of many factories supplying the garment industry, a major exporter from Myanmar. Several factories, many of them Chinese-owned, were set on fire on Sunday by unknown parties, sparking Beijing’s anger.
Thousands of residents of the municipality in cars, taxis, vans, motorcycles and on foot ran aground on roads outside the area on Tuesday. Some were looking for security, while others no longer have a job.
Last week’s protesters have responded to the rise in police violence by taking a more aggressive approach to self-defense, burning tires at barricades and stepping back when they can against attacks.
The committee representing Pyihtaungsu Hluttaw, made up of elected members of parliament who were not allowed to occupy their seats, said on Sunday that the general public has a legal right to self-defense against security forces.
The CRPH, which operates clandestinely within the country and with representatives abroad, has established itself as a shadow government that claims to be the only legitimate representative body of the citizens of Myanmar. The board has declared it a treacherous illegal organization.
State television MRTV announced Tuesday evening that a prominent figure in the CRPH, known as Dr. Sasa, was accused of high treason, which he sentenced to death.
Sasa, a doctor who uses only one name, is a member of the Chin ethnic minority and was appointed UN special envoy by the CRPH, is accused of provoking internal conflicts and acting against the board, which claims to be the only legitimate governing body despite having deposed an elected government.
Sasa is the public face of Myanmar’s international resistance, although it appears to be in hiding. He has spoken frequently with the international press by videoconference. He has also connected by video with foreign diplomats, UN officials and other opponents to the board, including members of ethnic minorities who maintain their own guerrilla armies.
The state-owned Global New Light newspaper of Myanmar reported that the board’s chief general, senior general Min Aung Hlaing, told colleagues that the protests had turned into “riots and violence”.
Speaking at a board meeting Monday in the capital, Naypyitaw, it was quoted that Min Aung Hlaing said the military was helping the police “as a rearguard in the places needed to resolve difficulties and obstacles”.
“Although there have been fewer protests, violent acts have taken place in some areas, such as the burning of public goods and factories. Therefore, the security forces had to face the situation very hard “, according to the account. “Protesters stormed police stations and administrative offices and burned factories. Meanwhile, the shooting had to disperse the protesters, causing some casualties of the security forces and the protesters. “
Virtually all independent accounts blame security forces for initiating violence against unarmed protesters.
Many protesters have called for foreign intervention to help them under the doctrine of Responsibility for Protection (R2P) designed to address issues such as genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
The UN and other regional agencies and nations have called for measures to reconcile protesters and the military and end violence. Several Western nations imposed sanctions on the generals and their trade connections, but the Board is confident it can withstand the pressure, especially with China as a diplomatic ally that could block coordinated United Nations action and offset trade deficits. grants and investments.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials explained that Washington wants to promote democratic principles in Myanmar, as it does elsewhere.
“We believe in democracy and human rights, the rule of law, because we have seen how our own countries are stronger, because we adhere to these values and because they are threatened in various places, including this region.” dit. “In Burma, the army is trying to overthrow the results of a democratic election and is brutally repressing peaceful protests.” The United States calls Myanmar by its old name, Burma, which was changed to a previous military regime.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said after his bilateral meeting with Blinken that they shared “a strong concern” over the situation in Myanmar, especially for attacks on peaceful demonstrations.
“There have been casualties among civilians and we are very concerned about development,” he said, adding that they call on Myanmar for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and the restoration of a democratic system.
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Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Jamey Keaten in Geneva collaborated.