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Violent crackdown on demonstrations in Myanmar killed 15 people on Thursday, bringing the death toll from five weeks of street protests to 73, when the military junta announced a corruption investigation of leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials. of the deposed civil government.
Accusations by the military regime that Aung San Suu Kyi had accepted US $ 600,000 and more than 25 pounds of gold, which a parliamentarian from his National League for Democracy (NLD) deemed “totally unfounded”, are added to the list of charges. taxes on the 75-year-old leader since she was ousted and detained on February 1.
As the army defended its case against Aung San Suu Kyi and other leading NLD figures at a press conference in Naypyidaw, violent crackdowns by police and soldiers killed at least 15 protesters in the cities of Yangon, Myaing, Mandalay , Myingyan and Bago. The confirmed death toll now stands at 73, according to a RFA tally.
In North Dagon Yangon Township, 25-year-old Chit Min Thu was killed instantly when police shot him in the head while defending other protesters with a homemade shield, witnesses said. Two others were hit by shots, one of which is in critical condition.
“We had to run because they were using real rounds and he was protecting us from the front to protect other protesters behind,” said a protester at the scene.
Supporters held an impromptu vigil for Chit Min Thu, who left behind a wife who is two months pregnant.
In Myaing, a city in the Magway region, six protesters were killed and 10 others injured when security forces fired into the crowd, locals said.
“I saw six people die and a dozen injured,” said a man at the scene who did not give his name. “One of the injured was in critical condition and was sent to Monywa General Hospital.”
Security forces intentionally resorted to excessive violence to harm peaceful protesters, using tear gas and shooting, said a university student in Myaing.
‘Not just words of support’
Police and soldiers in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, killed one man and wounded 30 others when they cracked down on protesters near Koe Lone Dagar pagoda, witnesses said. At least 20 protesters were arrested in the incident.
In Myingyan, in the Mandalay region of central Myanmar, residents said a man shot during a protest on Wednesday died of his injuries on Thursday.
In the Bago region, a man was shot dead by police and another was hit in the leg, although his wound was not life-threatening, a witness said.
Residents in Kalaymyo, Sagaing region, continued protesting marches despite police crackdown on Wednesday. Five people there have already been arrested, including one who was taken from her home overnight, locals said.
The Myanmar junta’s response to the peaceful protests likely reaches the legal threshold for crimes against humanity, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar told the Human Rights Council on Thursday.
“The people of Myanmar need not just words of support, but actions of support,” Tom Andrews said in a statement. “They need the help of the international community, now.”
The appeal came a day after the UN Security Council issued its strongest statement since the February 1 coup.
“The Security Council strongly condemns violence against peaceful protesters, including women, youth and children,” the statement said.
He also called for the “immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained” in a statement that was agreed upon after accepting objections from China, Russia and Vietnam to the language calling the takeover “a coup.”
On Wednesday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned the two adult children of the coup leader and commander-in-chief of the military forces, Min Aung Hlaing, as well as six companies of his two adult children. Min Aung Hlaing was blacklisted in the United States on February 11.
“The indiscriminate violence by Burmese security forces against peaceful protesters is unacceptable,” Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a statement.
“The United States will continue to work with our international partners to pressure the Burmese army and police to stop all violence against peaceful protesters and to restore democracy and the rule of law in Burma,” he added.
Corruption Probes Begin
At a press conference in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, the regime’s spokesman, Major General Zaw Min Tun, accused Aung San Suu Kyi of accepting US $ 600,000 and more than 25 pounds of gold from the head of the Yangon region, Phyo Min Thein, detained between December 2017 and March 2018. also accused President Win Myint and other top state and regional ministers of bribery.
“Daw has been known to [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi herself received those $ 600,000 and seven gold viss, and now the Anti-Corruption Commission has opened an investigation into it, ”Zaw Min Tun told reporters. A viss is a traditional unit of measure equivalent to 3.6 pounds.
Zaw Min Tin also accused the Representative Committee of Pyihtaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a shadow parliament made up of legislators elected in the November 2020 vote that, according to the board, was marred by irregularities, of misleading young people who lost the life after the coup of February 1.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces four other charges for alleged incitement, violation of telecommunications laws, possession of “illegally” imported walkie-talkies and violation of the Natural Disaster Management Act for violating COVID-19 pandemic restrictions during the campaign. 2020 election. The charges carry up to nine years in prison.
“This is a violation of conduct and is not in accordance with the law,” said Kyee Myint, a High Court attorney.
“I think these are totally unfounded accusations,” said Myint Oo, an NLD lawmaker representing a Bago constituency. “They have always told outright lies.”
The authorities also stepped up their crackdown on the media, with 37 journalists arrested by the authorities since the February 1 coup, of whom 22 have been released.
Six of the remaining 15 journalists will be tried by videoconference on Friday on charges of defamation and incitement for their reporting on the anti-military protests, their lawyers said.
Those facing trial are Kay Zun Nway of Myanmar Now, Thein Zaw of the Associated Press, Ye Myo Khant of Myanmar Pressphoto Agency, Aung Ye Ko of 7Day News, independent reporters Banyar Oo and Thint Myat Zaw, and Hein Pyae Zaw of Zaygwet Journal.
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporters Aung Kyaw and Min Nyo, Ye Yint Tun of Than Daw Sint News, Kyaw Nay Min of the Choon’s Journal, freelance reporter Pyay Phyo, Kamayut Media editor-in-chief Nathan Maung, and co-founder Hanthar Nyein. Where they are being detained and what charges they face is unknown.
On Monday, the military council officially banned Mizzima, DVB, 7Day News, Myanmar Now and Khit Thit News following previous raids on the offices of Mizzima and Myanmar Now. Security forces raided the offices of Khit Thit Media and Kamayut Media on Tuesday.
Reported by RFA Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
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