Forces in Myanmar kill 7 amid crackdown on rallies
MANDALAY, Myanmar — Security forces in Myanmar on Saturday again met protests against last month’s military takeover with lethal force, killing at least seven people by shooting live ammunition at demonstrators.
Fo u r d e a t h s we re reported in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, two in Pyay, a town in south-central Myanmar, and one in Twante, a suburb of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Details of all seven deaths were posted on multiple social media accounts, some accompanied by photos of the victims.
The actual death toll is likely to be higher, as police apparently seized some bodies, and some of the victims suffered gunshot wounds that doctors and nurses working at makeshift clinics will be hard-pressed to treat. Many hospitals are occupied by security forces, and as a result are boycotted by medical personnel and shunned by protesters.
The independent U.N. human rights expert for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said Thursday that “credible reports” indicated security forces in the Southeast Asian nation had so far killed at least 70 people, and cited growing evidence of crimes against humanity since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Saturday’s killings did not faze demonstrators in Yangon who crowded a downtown commercial area past the official 8 p.m. curfew to hold a mass candlelight vigil and to sing about their cause. The mostly young protesters rallied at an intersection where they usually gather for daytime protests.
After-dark rallies were also held in Mandalay and elsewhere.
Reports on social media also said three people were shot dead Friday night in Yangon, where residents for the past week have been defying the curfew to come out onto the streets.
Two deaths by gunfire were reported in Yangon’s Thaketa township, where a protest being held outside a police station was dispersed. A crowd had gathered there to demand the release of three young men who were seized from their home Friday night. Photos said to be of the bodies of two dead protesters were posted online. The other reported fatality Friday night was of a 19-year-old man shot in Hlaing township.
The nighttime protests may reflect a more aggressive approach to self-defense that has been advocated by some protesters. Police had been aggressively patrolling residential neighborhoods at night, firing into the air and setting off stun grenades in an effort at intimidation. They have also been carrying out targeted raids, taking people from their homes with minimal resistance. In at least two known cases, the detainees died in custody within hours of being taken away.
In Washington on Friday, the Biden administration announced it is offering temporary legal residency to people from Myanmar, citing the military’s takeover and ongoing deadly force against civilians. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the designation of temporary protected status for people from Myanmar would last for 18 months.
“PI DAY”
ACROSS
1 Yellow smoothie fruit
7 Chick’s sound 11 Turin-based automaker
15 One going through an eyelet 19 Anthology compiler
20 Loud sound 21 For the most part 23 Squeal on 24 Shrimp dish ordered online? 26 Equestrian action
28 Sticks in a parlor 29 Gulf of California state
30 Simile words 31 Divert 33 Mumbai apparel 34 Not someone you’d want in the cockpit?
39 NYSE events 43 Effect, as a law 44 In its current condition 45 Candidate’s concern after the latest poll?
51 Lows 53 Complete 55 French region associated with an eggy dish 56 Decorates tees 58 Hurl insults (at) 60 Ricoh rival 61 Retired jet 62 Fertile
65 Hit with a water balloon, say 67 Restaurant kitchen array 68 Hook during a typically slow period?
72 Russian milk drink
75 Driver’s target 76 Punctilious to the extreme 77 Shakespearean “Shake a leg!” 80 Online exchange 81 Carouse 83 Temporary stay 86 Toledo is on it 89 Ukase 92 Defensive castle feature 93 Physician for longshoremen? 95 National symbol 97 See 96-Down 98 Bawl 99 No-brainer card game?
101 Soft drink options
106 Humiliate
108 Discernment meas., in meteorology
109 Tolerates
111 Fish tank buildup
112 Optimal
117 Like most clouds, compared to cirrus clouds? 121 Carried with effort
122 Doesn’t give up 123 Prayer wheel spinner
124 Missing the mark
125 CEO’s helper 126 Like venison 127 “The Killing” actress Mireille __ 128 Exclusive date
DOWN
1 One in cuffs, maybe
2 Month after Shevat
3 Filled food truck buy
4 Very much 5 “Take a shot at it” 6 Con __
7 Puritan
8 Very long time 9 Celebrate an anniversary, say, with “out”
10 Like veggies in platters
11 Marker choice 12 Supermodel Sastre
13 FBI figure 14 Hardy title teenager
15 CNN medical analyst Wen 16 Protective suit 17 Blue Grotto isle 18 Sewing machine inventor Howe 22 Army sgts., e.g. 25 Flee
27 Valley known for viticulture
31 Small opening 32 Talk show VIPs 34 HVAC system openings
35 Nin of literature 36 Officer trainee 37 Etching supply 38 Terre Haute sch. 40 Enters en masse 41 Tokyo-born peace activist 42 Newton honorific 45 Betelgeuse’s constellation 46 Negative afterthought 47 Unworldly 48 Water container?
49 Aware of
50 Bank conveniences
52 Word with interest
54 Gave money for 57 Figure (out) 59 Part of a moth’s life cycle
63 Hide
64 March __ 66 Significant times 68 NFL Titan, when in Houston 69 Let go
70 Break, as ties 71 Very much 72 Growth in a wet forest
73 Actor Morales 74 Expert’s discovery
77 Impresario Sol 78 Goddess of peace
79 Shift key neighbor
82 Elevates
84 Give fresh energy to
85 Nabisco brand 87 Noisy disturbance
88 Bar supply 90 Game that might end in a library 91 Dance genre 94 Murkiness 96 With 97-Across, words before “good reason” 99 Free thing to try 100 Something done after a meal 101 Pioneering decaf brand
102 Orchestral pair, at a minimum
103 Enjoys an elegant meal
104 Skillful
105 Drill bit purchases
107 __ stop
110 Chase, as flies 111 Exercise activity 112 Bali products
113 Medical breakthrough
114 Et __: and others 115 Transmit
116 Avant-garde
118 Touchdown hr. calculation
119 Holm of “The Hobbit”
120 Punk subgenre
Dear Readers: Every year during this time I step away from my column to work on other creative projects. I hope you enjoy these (edited) “Best Of ” Q&As from 10 years ago. Today’s topic is: unsocial media.
I’ll be back with fresh columns after next week.
Dear Amy: My daughter-in-law “Wendy” uses Facebook to complain about her job, her boss, how much she feels cheated by being a working mother, and even about the shortcomings of her new husband (my son), who apparently failed to buy her a lavish enough Mother’s Day present.
These posts create a kind of online persona that makes her seem vicious, and she really isn’t. But the really embarrassing part is that she is Facebook friends with everyone in my family, and, believe me, her posts are a topic of not-too-flattering gossip.
I have mentioned to my son a few times when her posts have become offensive, and he is trying to deal with it offline.
— Concerned Motherin-law
Dear Concerned: When your daughter-in-law posts her complaints, selfishness or negativity on the public bulletin board that is Facebook, she runs the risk of ruining her personal and professional reputation. And that’s her business.
When her whining veers into family territory, that’s your business.
A gentle and respectful “heads-up” (to her) is in order, and then you should back off, adjust your settings (both metaphorically and on Facebook) and stop reading her posts.
Dear Amy: My dad’s politics are at odds with the rest of the family.
He keeps sending us extreme and hateful articles. We keep asking him to stop, but when he drinks too much (which is almost every night) he will send us articles with messages like, “You won’t be so hard on me after you read this factual article” (which it isn’t).
I’ve asked him to stop sending me any political emails, but then he won’t talk to me for days.
Sometimes he won’t remember sending me anything (because of his drinking), and his feelings are hurt because he has no idea why I am so hard on him. I try to take the high road, but I also will not let him bully me. What can I do to keep him from upsetting me, outside of cutting him out of my life?
— Desperate Daughter
You think this is about offensive or unwanted email, but I think this is about your father’s drinking. You claim his drinking is excessive enough that he does things he doesn’t remember doing, then his feelings are hurt when you (or others) react to his actions.
You should automatically delete his messages to you, or have email from him sent directly to your “spam” folder for you to review periodically.
Has anybody in your family urged your father to get help to stop drinking? You can anticipate denial and/or belligerence when you do, which isn’t much different from how he
Dear Daughter:
relates to you anyway.
Dear Amy: I’ve known a dear friend’s father and stepmother for many years. Recently my friend’s father “friended” me on Facebook. I was happy at first, but he writes diatribes to almost anything I post and has used (somewhat “coded”) obscene language.
It’s really weird and disturbing. I asked him not to use the language, and he seems to have backed off a bit, but he spends way too much time on Facebook and way too much time “challenging” me on political and religious stuff.
How can I stop it?
— Facebooked
Dear Facebooked: You have attempted to influence this person to behave differently, but he is an adult, and he can do as he pleases. So can you.
You could “unfriend” or “block” him but if you feel this would cause additional unpleasantness, you could limit his access to your posts.
You two would still be Facebook friends, but if he doesn’t see your posts, he won’t have much to push against.
I don’t think there is any reason to involve your (actual) friend in this. If this man contacts you wondering why he isn’t seeing all of your updates, be honest and say his responses bothered you. Then accept the fact that he might not like this reaction.