Protester’s death is 1st confirmed fatality in unrest
YANGON, Myanmar — A young woman who was shot in the head by police last week during a protest against the military coup in Myanmar died Friday, her family said.
It was the first confirmed death among thousands of protesters who have faced off against security forces since the junta took power on Feb. 1, detained the country’s elected leaders and prevented Parliament from convening.
Mya Thwet Thwet Khine was shot during a demonstration in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Feb. 9, two days before her 20th birthday. Video showed her sheltering from water cannons and suddenly dropping to the ground after a bullet penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing. She had been on life support in a hospital.
Her sister, speaking from the hospital’s mortuary, urged people not to give up their struggle to restore democracy. “Please participate and continue fighting until we achieve our goal,” said Mya Thatoe Nwe.
Protesters in Mandalay, the country’s second biggest city, set up a sidewalk shrine with candles and photos of the dead woman. About 200 people paid their respects at a memorial ceremony at sunset.
Even before her death, Mya Thwet Thwet Khine had been hailed as a hero, and news of her passing is likely to inflame passions in the protest movement.
“As protests continue to grow, Myanmar security forces must cease carrying and using lethal weapons and must respect people’s right to peacefully express their grievances,” Joanne Mariner, director of crisis response for Amnesty International, said in a statement. “It is only a matter of time before the same brutal and abusive policing leads to more death and sorrow.”
A spokesman for the ruling military did not deny that Mya Thwet Thwet Khine had been shot by security forces, but said at a news conference this week that she was in a crowd that had thrown rocks at police and the case was under investigation.
Demonstrations continued Friday in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, and elsewhere. Security forces have been relatively restrained so far in confronting protesters in Yangon, but appeared to be toughening their stance in areas where there is less media presence.
The junta says it took power — after detaining national leader Aung San Suu Kyi and preventing Parliament from convening — because elections last November were tainted by voting irregularities. Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide, and the results were affirmed by an election commission.