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Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin looks on during a visit to the Indian Institute of Foreign Services in New Delhi on July 15, 2015. Photo by MONEY SHARMA / AFP
BANGKOK – The Myanmar junta’s foreign minister visited Thailand on Wednesday as regional powers tried to negotiate an end to three weeks of deadly unrest sparked by a military coup.
The talks came when an anti-coup protester died in detention, a local rescue organization said. Another four have died in the repression.
Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin held talks with his Thai and Indonesian counterparts in what were the first known face-to-face meetings between a high-ranking board member and foreign government officials.
The army has weathered a storm of international condemnation for ousting civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power in a coup on February 1, while dissent within its borders has been vociferous with daily protests across the country.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she expressed concern for the safety and well-being of Myanmar citizens and reiterated the need for an “inclusive democratic transition process.”
“We call on all parties to exercise restraint and not use violence to avoid victims and bloodshed,” he told reporters in Jakarta.
Marsudi has been on a “shuttle diplomacy” mission for the past two weeks discussing the Myanmar crisis during his visits to Brunei and Singapore, as well as on phone calls with other Southeast Asian counterparts.
He was hoping to travel to Naypyidaw after his visit to Bangkok to directly convey messages from Indonesia and other countries, but confirmed that the visit should be postponed.
‘Stop negotiating with them’
Early Wednesday, the Indonesian embassy in Myanmar’s commercial hub Yangon saw hundreds of protesters gather for the second day in a row.
Angry that Jakarta was speaking to the junta government, officially called the State Board of Directors, the protesters carried signs reading: “Stop negotiating with them” and “Indonesia, don’t support the dictator.”
“The State Military Administration Council is not our legitimate government,” said participant Seinn Lae Maung, who had a Myanmar flag painted on her face.
“Please respect our vows and listen to our voices.”
Marsudi then responded to criticism, warning: “Doing nothing is not an option.”
Since the February 1 coup, Myanmar has witnessed a torrent of anger and defiance from hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country demanding the release of Suu Kyi.
The army has justified its actions by claiming widespread electoral fraud in the November elections, which Suu Kyi’s party had won overwhelmingly.
Since taking power, the junta has ordered nightly internet blackouts and arrested hundreds of anti-coup protesters, while security forces have steadily stepped up enforcement tactics to quell the demonstrations.
They have fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets at protesters, as well as isolated live ammunition incidents.
The death toll after the coup rose on Wednesday when a 20-year-old man was arrested and suffered a leg injury at a protest last weekend in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
“(His mother) ran up to me, crying and hugging me, saying her son had died,” said Khin Maung Tint of Mandalay Rescue.
That followed the deaths of three other protesters, including 17-year-old Wai Yan Tun, who was shot in the head on Saturday after security forces opened fire during a protest in Mandalay.
A man in Yangon was also shot and killed while patrolling his neighborhood against nightly arrests.
On Wednesday, families and friends paid tribute to Tin Htut Hein, 30, who was patrolling Yangon’s Shwephyitha Township when he was shot and killed.
Some mourners wore T-shirts with their faces printed on the front, while others placed roses on a sign that read “the dictatorship must fail.”
Protests continued across the country on Wednesday, from Yangon, where minority ethnic groups wore traditional costumes and waved flags, to Mandalay, where protesters mounted elephants with “Down with the military dictatorship” scrawled on their bodies.
Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was arrested in morning raids.
The Nobel laureate faces shady charges for having unregistered walkie-talkies at her residence and for breaking coronavirus rules. He is expected to go to trial on March 1.
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