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Irish citizens in Myanmar are advised to leave the country by commercial means unless they have an urgent reason to stay, following one of the bloodiest days of protests since last month’s military coup.
Myanmar security forces killed 114 people, including some children, in a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters today, press reports and witnesses said.
The killings, which took place on Armed Forces Day, drew strong renewed criticism from Western countries.
Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said he was “deeply shocked and saddened by the abominable and indefensible slaughter of unarmed civilians, including children.”
“The role of the military in society is to protect its citizens, not murder and terrorize them. Today, the security forces have disgraced themselves and these actions leave another stain on Myanmar’s history,” said Mr. Coveney.
Ireland continues to support the people of Myanmar and will continue to work with our partners in Europe, in the region and in the United Nations, both in the General Assembly and as a member of the Security Council, to see an end to the violence. and achieve a peaceful and democratic solution to this crisis. “
There are believed to be around 40 Irish citizens currently in Myanmar. Mr. Coveney said that the Irish Embassy in Bangkok is in contact with registered citizens of Myanmar to give advice and information.
“We are currently advising Irish citizens in Myanmar to consider leaving the country by commercial means unless they have an urgent reason to stay. Citizens in Myanmar with concerns should contact the Embassy at +66 2 016 1360,” he said.
British Ambassador Dan Chugg said the security forces had been “disgraced” and the US envoy called the violence horrific.
Military planes also launched airstrikes on a village in territory controlled by an armed group from the Karen ethnic minority today, killing at least two people, a civil society group said.
Earlier, the Karen National Union said it had invaded an army outpost near the Thai border, killing 10 people, including a lieutenant colonel, and losing one of its own fighters as tensions with the army mounted after years of relative peace.
Major General Min Aung Hlaing, leader of the junta, said during a parade to mark Armed Forces Day that the military would protect the people and fight for democracy.
Protesters gathered today in Yangon, Mandalay and other cities, as they have done almost daily since the February 1 coup that toppled elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Myanmar Now news portal said 114 people were killed across the country in suppressing the protests.
At least 40 people, including a 13-year-old girl, died in Mandalay, and at least 27 people died in Yangon, Myanmar Now said. A boy as young as five was previously reported among those killed in Mandalay, but there were later conflicting reports that he may have survived. Another 13-year-old boy was among those killed in the central Sagaing region.
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“Today is a shameful day for the armed forces,” Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group created by deposed lawmakers, said in an online forum.
A military spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment on killings by security forces, air strikes or the insurgent attack on his post.
“They are killing us like birds or chickens, even in our houses,” said Thu Ya Zaw in the central city of Myingyan, where at least two protesters were killed. “We will continue to protest despite everything … We must fight until the junta falls.”
Today’s deaths would bring the number of civilians reported dead since the coup to more than 440.
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said the killing of unarmed civilians and children marked a new low, while the EU delegation in Myanmar said that today “will forever be etched as a day of terror and disgrace.”
News reports said there were deaths in Sagaing, Lashio in the east, in the Bago region, near Yangon and elsewhere. A one-year-old baby was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
Min Aung Hlaing, speaking at the parade in the capital Naypyitaw, reiterated the promise to hold elections, without giving any deadline.
“The military seeks to unite with the entire nation in safeguarding democracy,” he said in a live broadcast on state television. “Violent acts that affect stability and security to make demands are inappropriate.”
The army has said it seized power because the November elections won by Suu Kyi’s party were fraudulent, a claim dismissed by the country’s electoral commission. Suu Kyi is being held at an undisclosed location and many other figures from her group are also in custody.
New sanctions from the United States and Europe this week increased external pressure on the junta, but the condemnation is not universal.
Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin attended the parade in Naypyitaw, having met with senior junta leaders a day earlier.
“Russia is a true friend,” said Min Aung Hlaing.
Diplomats said eight countries – Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand – sent representatives, but Russia was the only one to send a minister to the Armed Forces Day parade, which marks the start of the resistance to Japanese Occupation in 1945.
Support from Russia and China, which it has also refrained from criticizing, is important to the board, as those two countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and may block possible UN actions.
In a warning last night, state television said protesters were “in danger of being shot in the head and back.” It did not specifically say that security forces had received shoot-to-kill orders and the board had previously suggested that some deadly shootings occurred in the crowd.
The shots hit the American cultural center in Yangon today, but no one was injured and the incident was being investigated, said US embassy spokeswoman Aryani Manring.
Author and historian Thant Myint-U wrote on Twitter: “Even after weeks of gruesome violence, today’s slaughter of civilians is shocking both in nature and scale, with children among the dead again, and deserves concerted attention and help. of the world”.
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