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A young woman who was shot in the head by police during a protest last week against the military’s takeover of power in Myanmar died on Friday morning (local time), her brother said.
His is the first confirmed death among protesters who by the thousands have clashed with security forces after a junta seized power on February 1, detained Myanmar’s elected leaders and prevented Parliament from meeting.
Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, 19, was shot during a demonstration in the capital Naypyitaw on February 9. The video showed her taking shelter from the water cannons and suddenly falling to the ground after a bullet penetrated a motorcycle helmet she had been wearing. He had been on life support in a hospital with what doctors had said there was no chance of recovery.
Uncredited / AP
Mandalay University graduates bow their heads while holding up posters with images of Mya Thwet Thwet Khine earlier this month. She has since died.
His brother, Ye Htut Aung, who spoke with The Associated Press from a morgue, said he died at 11:05 a.m. Friday. A source from the 1000-bed Naypyitaw General Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of harassment from authorities, confirmed his death.
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A spokesman for the ruling army did not deny that the security forces shot the woman, but said at a press conference this week that she was one of the people who threw stones at police and that the case was under investigation. There were no independent reports of his involvement in acts of violence.
The protesters had already hailed Mya Thwet Thwet Khine as a heroine and commemorated her during the demonstrations earlier this week. The news of his death is likely to further ignite passions in the nonviolent protest movement, which embraces civil disobedience.
Uncredited / AP
A man throws the three-finger salute in front of riot police as anti-coup protesters gather outside the Hledan Center in Yangon, Myanmar on Friday.
The demonstrations continued on Friday in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and elsewhere.
So far, the security forces have been relatively restrained in confronting protesters in Yangon, but appeared to be hardening their stance in places where there is less media presence.
Police used force for the second day in a row to arrest protesters in Myitkyina, the capital of the remote northern state of Kachin.
Uncredited / AP
The death of the woman is expected to further increase tensions in Myanmar.
The Kachin ethnic minority has long been at odds with the central government, and there has been intermittent armed struggle against the army there for decades.
On Thursday night in the southeastern city of Dawei, local media reported that several people were injured by rubber bullets when police conducted night raids to try to arrest some activists.
Large but peaceful protest marches have been held in the city, with negotiations between protesters and the authorities to avoid clashes.
Uncredited / AP
A body bag, containing the remains of a young woman, is taken from the 1000-bed General Hospital in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Tom Andrews, the UN’s independent human rights expert on Myanmar, said The Associated Press This week, the initial restraint of the police dealing with the “strong citizen opposition to the coup” has been transferred in some cases to the use of rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons.
Speaking from the United States, he also said that “hardened” troops were being deployed from the border areas to some cities, increasing the possibility of bloodshed and “a tragic loss of life.”
The board has said it took power, after arresting the nation’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others and preventing Parliament from meeting, because last November’s elections were tainted by voting irregularities.
Uncredited / AP
Anti-coup protesters come face to face with riot police in Myanmar as protests continue.
The election result, which Suu Kyi’s party won by an overwhelming majority, was confirmed by an electoral commission that has since been replaced by the military. The board says it will hold new elections in a year.
The governments of the United States, Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Myanmar’s new military leaders, and they and other governments have called for the Suu Kyi administration to be restored.
The coup was a major setback for Myanmar’s transition to democracy after 50 years of army rule. Suu Kyi came to power after her National League for Democracy party won the 2015 elections, but the generals retained substantial power under the constitution, which was adopted under a military regime.
Uncredited / AP
Anti-coup protesters confront a line of riot police in Yangon, Myanmar.
