Myanmar police crack down on protests, one woman killed
Police launched their most sweeping crackdown in three weeks of protests against military rule in towns and cities across the country, with media reports of a woman shot dead and dozens of people detained
Police in Myanmar launched their most sweeping crackdown in three weeks of protests against military rule on Saturday in towns and cities across the country, with media reports of a woman shot dead and dozens of people detained.
The violence came ater Myanmar’s U.N. envoy urged the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to stop the Feb. 1 coup.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.
Uncertainty has grown over Suu Kyi’s whereabouts, as the independent Myanmar Now website on Friday quoted officials of her National League for Democracy ( NLD) party as saying she had been moved this week from house arrest to an undisclosed location.
The coup has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to Myanmar’s streets and drawn condemnation from Western countries, with some imposing limited sanctions.
Police were out in force in the main city of
Yangon and elsewhere on Saturday, taking up positions at usual protest sites and detaining people as they congregated, witnesses said. Several media workers were detained.
Three domestic media outlets said a woman was shot and killed in the central town of Monwya. Police there were not immediately available for comment.
Earlier, a protester in the town said police had fired water cannon as they surrounded a crowd.
“They used water cannon against peaceful protesters - they shouldn’t treat people like that,” Aye Aye Tint told Reuters from the town.
In Yangon, despite the police presence, people came out to chant and sing, then scater into side streets as police advanced, firing tear gas, seting off stun grenades and firing guns into the air, witnesses said.
Similar scenes played out in the second city of Mandalay and several other towns, including Dawei in the south, witnesses and media said.
Among those detained at a Mandalay protest was Win Mya Mya, one of only two Muslim members of parliament for the NLD, media said.
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing has said authorities were using minimal force. Nevertheless, at least three protesters have died in the weeks of turmoil.
The army says a policeman was also killed. At the UN General Assembly, Myanmar’s Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said he was speaking on behalf of Suu Kyi’s government and appealed for “any means necessary to take action against the Myanmar military and to provide safety and security for the people.”
“We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup... and to restore the democracy,” he said. Kyaw Moe Tun appeared emotional as he read the statement on behalf of a group of elected politicians that he said represented the legitimate government.
Delivering his final words in Burmese, the career diplomat raised the three-finger salute of pro-democracy protesters and announced, “Our cause will prevail.”
Reuters was not immediately able to contact the army for comment.
Coup opponents hailed Kyaw Moe Tun as a hero and flooded social media with messages of thanks. UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said he was overwhelmed as he watched the ambassador’s “act of courage.”
“It’s time for the world to answer that courageous call with action,” Andrews said on Twiter.
China’s envoy did not criticise the coup and said the situation was part of Myanmar’s “internal affairs.” China supported diplomacy by southeast Asian countries, he said.
But in more bad news for the generals who have traditionally shrugged off outside pressure, Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd said it was cutting its presence in Myanmar over concern about rights violations and violence by security forces.
“Woodside supports the people of Myanmar and we hope to see a peaceful journey to democracy,” the company said.
A lawyer for Suu Kyi, Khin Maung Zaw, told Reuters he had also heard that she had been moved from her home in the capital, Naypyitaw, but could not confirm it.