Violent crackdown on protests stirs outrage, call for help

Footage of a brutal crackdown on protests against a coup in Myanmar unleashed outrage and calls for a stronger international response Thursday, a day after 38 people were killed.

Videos showed security forces shooting a person at point-blank range and chasing down and beating demonstrators.

Despite the violence the day before, protesters returned to the streets Thursday to denounce the military’s Feb. 1 takeover — and were met again with tear gas.

The international response to the coup has so far been fitful, but a flood of videos shared online showing security forces brutally targeting protesters and other civilians led to calls for more action.

The United States called the images appalling and the U.N. human rights chief said it was time to “end the military’s stranglehold over democracy in Myanmar.”

The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to international isolation and sanctions.

As the generals loosened their grip in recent years, the international

community lifted most sanctions and poured in investment.

The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, described Wednesday as “the bloodiest day” since the takeover, when the military ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her remarks seemed to reference a video that begins with a group of security forces following a civilian, who they seem to have just pulled out of a building. A shot rings out, and the person falls. After the person briefly raises their head, two of the troops drag the person down the street by the arms.

Justine Chambers, associate director of the Myanmar Research Center at the Australian National University, said while the graphic images would no doubt lead to strong condemnations, action on Myanmar would be harder.

“I think domestic audiences around the world don’t have much of an appetite for stronger action, i.e. intervention, given the current state of the pandemic and associated economic issues,” she said.

The U.N. Security Council has scheduled closed-door consultations today on calls to reverse the coup — including from U.N. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres — and stop the escalating crackdown.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Anti-coup protesters walk on a road with defaced images of the military commander in chief in Yangon, Myanmar on Thursday. Videos showed a brutal crackdown against such protests continue.