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From this Friday, the Burmese military junta is subject to massive international condemnation for the deaths of more than 40 children and the “forced disappearances” of hundreds of people in the repression of the demonstrations against the coup.
More than 543 people, including 44 children, died in two months in the repression of the mobilizations against the military coup of February 1, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP).
About 2,700 people have been arrested and hundreds are missing, according to this local NGO.
Against a backdrop of escalating violence, Save the Children said the number of young people killed has more than doubled in the past 12 days.
“It is shocking that children are among the victims of these fatal attacks, despite calls to protect them, “they indicated in a statement from the organization.
“It is particularly terrifying that several of these children have been killed in their houses, where in principle they should be protected ”, they added.
The authorities have made numerous arrests during nightly searches of the homes of people suspected of supporting the demonstrations or the civil disobedience movement against the coup.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Junta has caused the “enforced disappearance” of hundreds of people by refusing to confirm their location or to allow detainees access to their lawyers.
“The military junta generalizes arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, to impose fear among the protesters,” says HRW director for Asia, Brad Adams.
Convictions and penalties
Faced with this growing violence, Condemnations from countries and international organizations have been increasing.
The Security Council of the The UN said in a unanimous statement Thursday which “strongly condemns” the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Burma.
The United Kingdom, the former colonial power, imposed new sanctions against the financial interests of the board, specifically against the conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).
But for now neither sanctions nor convictions have made a dent in the military junta, which continues its brutal repression against protesters.
On Friday, there were more protests across the country, local media reported. In Rangoon, people left flowers at bus stops and other public places in memory of the dead.
Is Violence has inflamed about twenty armed ethnic groups in Burma, some of which launched attacks on the police, which the army responded with with shelling.
Since Burma’s independence in 1948, a multitude of ethnic groups have maintained conflicts with the central power and the army had reached a ceasefire with several of them in recent years.
But, since the coup, some expressed their support for the popular uprising, took up arms or threaten to do so.
More charges against Suu Kyi
For her part, the Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, deposed by the military, was accused of having violated a law on state secrets dating from colonial times, in a video-conference appearance Thursday before a court in the capital Naipyidó.
The 75-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was an icon of democracy for decades in her country, was already on trial for other charges, including “inciting public disorder.” She is also accused of receiving bribes, but has not yet been charged with corruption.
Burmese leader could be sentenced to several years in jail and to be banned forever from political life.
The military junta has justified his coup by alleging alleged fraud in the November elections, in which Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won an overwhelming victory.
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