Huge crowds in Myanmar without neglecting the worst day of violence

A large crowd marched in Myanmar on Sunday to denounce a military coup on February 1 in defiance after the bloodiest episode of the previous day’s campaign for democracy, when security forces fired on protesters and they killed two.

The military has not been able to stifle protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes against the coup and the arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others, even with the promise of new and severe elections. warnings against dissent.

Tens of thousands of people gathered peacefully in Mandalay’s second city, where Saturday’s killings took place, witnesses said.

“They were targeting the heads of unarmed civilians. They were targeting our future,” a young protester told the crowd.

Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun has not responded to Reuters attempts to contact him by phone for comment.

He told a news conference on Tuesday that the actions of the army were within the constitution and were supported by the majority of the people, and blamed the protesters for instigating the violence.

In the main city of Yangon, thousands of young people, mostly young people, gathered in different places to sing slogans and sing.

“Young people have our dreams, but this military coup has created so many obstacles,” Ko Pay said in Yangon. “That’s why we’re going to the front of the protests.”

In Myitkyina, in the north, people laid flowers to the dead protesters. Large crowds marched to the central cities of Monywa and Bagan, to Dawei and Myeik to the south, Myawaddy to the east and Lashio to the northeast.

At the Inle Lake resort, people, including Buddhist monks, took a flotilla of boats containing Suu Kyi’s portraits and posters that said “military end.”

The more than two weeks of protests had been largely peaceful until Saturday, unlike previous episodes of opposition during nearly half a century of direct military rule until 2011.

The violence seemed unlikely to end the unrest.

“The number of people will increase … We will not stop,” protester Yin Nyein Hmway said in Yangon.

The problem in Mandalay began with clashes between security forces and striking shipyard workers.

Video clips on social media showed members of the security forces firing at protesters and witnesses said they found the worn cartridges from the live rounds.

The UN special rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said he was horrified by the deaths of the two, one of them a teenage boy.

“From water cannons to rubber bullets to tear gas and now hardened troops firing targets at peaceful protesters. This madness must end now,” he said on Twitter.

The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said strikers were sabotaging ships in the city’s river port and attacking police with sticks, knives and catapults. Eight policemen and several soldiers were injured.

“Some of the aggressive protesters were also injured due to security measures taken by the security force in accordance with the law,” the newspaper said without mentioning the deaths.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) condemned the violence of security forces in Mandalay as a crime against humanity.

A young protester, Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, became the first death among protesters on Friday. She was shot in the head on February 9 in the capital Naypyitaw.

Hundreds of people attended his funeral on Sunday.

Military media said the bullet that killed her did not come from any weapon used by police and therefore had to be fired by an “external weapon”.

The army says a policeman has died from injuries sustained in a protest.

The army took power after alleging fraud in the November 8 elections that the NLD swept away, arresting Suu Kyi and others. The election commission dismissed the allegations of fraud.

Facebook deleted the army’s homepage for repeated violations of its standards “prohibiting incitement to violence and coordinating damage” and Western countries condemning the coup denounced the violence.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was “deeply concerned.”

France, Singapore, Britain and Germany also condemned the violence, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the lethal force was unacceptable.

The United States, Britain and others have announced limited sanctions, focusing on military leaders, but generals have long since abandoned foreign pressure.

Suu Kyi faces a charge of violating a natural disaster management law and illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios. His next court appearance will be on March 1.

A human rights group said 569 people had been arrested in connection with the coup.