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Protesters returned to the streets of Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Wednesday (February 10) after the most violent day yet in demonstrations against a coup that halted a tentative transition to democracy under the elected leadership Aung San Suu Kyi.
The United States and the United Nations condemned the use of force against protesters, who are demanding the reversal of the coup and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists.
“We cannot remain silent,” youth leader Esther Ze Naw told Reuters. “If blood is spilled during our peaceful protests, there will be more if we let them take over the country.”
FILE PHOTO: People cover themselves with plastic from the use of a water cannon during a demonstration against the military coup and to demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 9, 2021 .REUTERS / Stringer / File Photo
In Naypyidaw, hundreds of government workers marched in support of a civil disobedience campaign that has been joined by doctors, teachers, and railway workers, among others.
A doctor said a protester was expected to die from a gunshot wound to the head during protests Tuesday. She was injured when the police fired weapons, mainly into the air, to clear the protesters in Naypyidaw. Three other people were being treated for injuries caused by suspected rubber bullets, doctors said.
Protesters were also injured in Mandalay and other cities, where security forces also used water cannons. State media reported injuries to police during their attempts to disperse the protesters, who were accused of throwing stones and bricks.
READ: Myanmar army raids Aung San Suu Kyi’s party offices as UN criticizes violence
The US State Department said it was reviewing aid to Myanmar to ensure that those responsible for the coup face “significant consequences.”
“We reiterate our calls for the military to relinquish power, restore a democratically elected government, release the detainees and lift all telecommunications restrictions and refrain from violence,” said spokesman Ned Price in Washington.
The United Nations called on the Myanmar security forces to respect the right of people to protest peacefully.
“The use of disproportionate force against the protesters is unacceptable,” said Ola Almgren, UN representative in Myanmar.
The protests are the largest in Myanmar in more than a decade, reliving memories of nearly half a century of direct military rule and spasms of bloody uprisings until the military began a process of retreating from civilian politics in 2011.
The Association for Assistance for Political Prisoners on Tuesday registered nearly 60 detainees in various parts of Myanmar.
CRITICAL CONDITION
A doctor in Naypyidaw said the woman who was shot in the head with a live bullet remained in critical condition, but was not expected to survive. Social media video verified by Reuters showed her with other protesters at a distance from a line of riot police as a water cannon was sprayed and multiple shots could be heard.
The woman, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet, suddenly collapsed. Photographs of his helmet showed what appeared to be a bullet hole.
LEE: Myanmar state television says police were injured by ‘aggressive’ protesters
Myanmar’s military seized power citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the November 8 elections that Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won overwhelmingly. The electoral commission had dismissed the army’s complaints.
Late on Tuesday, police raided the NLD headquarters in Yangon during the hours of the military-imposed curfew.
The raid was carried out by a dozen police officers, who entered the building in the commercial capital after dark, elected lawmakers said.
READ: Comment: An offensive in Myanmar could trigger a humanitarian crisis
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party was due to begin a second term on the day of the coup.
Along with the protests, a civil disobedience movement has affected hospitals, schools and government offices. Staff from the Naypyidaw Ministry of Electricity and Energy were among the last to join the civil disobedience movement on Wednesday.
The protesters’ demands now go beyond reversing the coup.
They also seek the abolition of a 2008 constitution drafted under military supervision that gave generals a veto in parliament and control of various ministries, and for an ethnically diverse federal system in Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for democracy and spent nearly 15 years under house arrest.
The 75-year-old woman faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies and is being held until February 15. Her attorney said she was not allowed to see her.
Aung San Suu Kyi remains very popular at home despite damage to her international reputation from the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
