[ad_1]
The families of dozens of people killed in demonstrations against the military government in Myanmar attended their funerals on Tuesday (March 16) when protesters again challenged the security forces despite the rising death toll.
Hundreds of mourners took to the streets at the funeral of medical student Khant Nyar Hein, who was killed in Yangon on Sunday, the bloodiest day in the weeks of protests that followed the coup against the elected government on February 1.
“Let them kill me right now, let them kill me instead of my son because I can’t take it anymore,” the student’s mother said in a video clip posted on Facebook.
Khant Nyar Hein, 18, was shot and killed on March 14, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
Medical students raise their hands and show the three-finger salute at the funeral of 18-year-old Khant Nyar Hein on March 17, 2021 (Photo: Naung Kham).
Mourners, including many fellow medical students in white lab coats, chanted: “Our revolution must prevail.”
In other developments on Tuesday, France said the European Union would approve sanctions against those responsible for the coup next Monday.
The military junta, meanwhile, accused the international envoy of the ousted government of treason for encouraging the campaign of civil disobedience and calling for sanctions, the army-run television said. The charges carry a possible death penalty.
At least one more protester was shot and killed Tuesday in the central city of Kawlin, a resident there said.
Commentary: Myanmar Learned Wrong Lessons from Indonesia’s Political Transition
The relatives of the victims of the anti-coup protesters wait outside the morgue for the return of their bodies at Thingangyun Hospital in Yangon, on March 15, 2021 (Photo: REUTERS / Stringer).
READ: 149 dead, hundreds missing in riots in Myanmar: UN
More than 180 protesters have now died as security forces try to crush opposition to the generals who overthrew the civil government of Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power themselves.
The complete shutdown of the mobile internet made it difficult to verify information and the vast majority of people in Myanmar do not have access to WiFi. A spokesperson for the board did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
On Tuesday, a crematorium in Yangon reported 31 funerals, a mourner said at a ceremony. Some families told the media that the security forces had seized the bodies of the victims, but that they would still hold a funeral.
Relatives of victims of anti-coup protesters react in front of the morgue as they await the return of their bodies at Thingangyun Hospital in Yangon on March 15, 2021 (Photo: REUTERS / Stringer).
A medical student shows the three-finger salute at the funeral of 18-year-old Khant Nyar Hein. (Photo: Naung Kham)
People showed photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, the most prominent defender of democracy in Myammar for three decades, and called for an end to the crackdown during a small protest in the southern city of Dawei on Tuesday, news outlet Dawei Watch reported. . There were no reports of violence.
US CONCERN
The army said it seized power after its allegations of fraud in the Nov. 8 election won by the Nobel Prize’s National League for Democracy (NLD) were rejected by the electoral commission. He promised to hold new elections, but has not set a date.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, has been detained since the coup and faces multiple charges, including illegally importing walkie-talkie radios and violating coronavirus protocols.
Martial law has been imposed in various districts of Yangon, the commercial center and former capital of Myanmar, and elsewhere in the country.
“The military is trying to overturn the results of a democratic election and is brutally cracking down on peaceful protesters,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a press conference in Tokyo.
The UN human rights office said “deeply distressing” reports of torture in custody had emerged and that five people were known to have died in custody.
“We call on the military to stop killing and detaining the protesters,” said its spokesman, Ravina Shamdasani, in Geneva.
A fellow medical student at the funeral of 18-year-old Khant Nyar Hein on March 16, 2021 (Photo: Naung Kham).
In a further indication of international consternation over the events in Myanmar, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the European Union would approve sanctions on generals at a meeting of foreign ministers next Monday.
Those sanctions will suspend all budget support and target the economic interests of the people involved in the coup, he said.
Members of the overthrown civilian government, which have established a parallel administration, called on Total and other oil companies operating in Myanmar to suspend payments to the military-controlled state.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the escalation of violence at the hands of the military and called on the international community to help end the crackdown, his spokesman said.
A spokesperson for the board did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, and Reuters was unable to independently confirm all of the victims.
READ: Global alarm grows as more protesters die in Myanmar crackdown
LEE: Chinese workers injured in attacks on factories in Myanmar, says the Chinese embassy
CHINESE WARNINGS
Meanwhile, China Global Television Network, an international Chinese English-language channel linked to the Communist Party, warned against further attacks on Chinese-owned companies after more than 30 factories in an industrial suburb of Yangon were torched on Sunday.
The opposition movement believes that Beijing supports the military and, unlike Western powers, has not condemned the coup.
“China will not allow its interests to be exposed to further aggression. If the authorities cannot comply and the chaos continues to spread, China could be forced to take more drastic measures to protect its interests,” said CGTN.
When asked what drastic action might mean, China’s mission to the United Nations in New York referred Reuters to earlier Chinese statements saying that the Mynamar authorities must take steps to protect Chinese citizens and businesses.
The three-finger salute, with a fireplace in the background. (File photo: Naung Kham)
China, along with Russia, has prevented the UN Security Council from denouncing the military’s actions as a coup and has in the past protected the Myanmar authorities from any forceful action by the body.
Also on Tuesday, the military charged the ousted government’s international envoy with treason, army-run television said.
He said that Dr. Sasa had encouraged a campaign of civil disobedience, called for international sanctions and served as a special envoy to the United Nations for an illegal organization.
Sasa, who is not in the country, said he was proud to have been charged.
“These generals have committed acts of treason every day. Taking what they want for themselves, denying the people their rights and oppressing those who stand in their way,” he said in a statement.
“I defend freedom, I defend federal democracy, I defend justice for my country and I continue to call for an end to military brutality and bloody violence.”
READ: ‘Worrisome’ signs of rising food prices in Myanmar since coup: UN agency
READ: UN calls for reversal of coup in Myanmar and condemns violence
The army ruled the former British colony for decades after a 1962 coup and cracked down on previous uprisings before beginning a tentative transition to democracy a decade ago.
That has now been derailed and instead protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes are paralyzing much of the economy.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) said on Tuesday that poor families were struggling to feed themselves as the price of rice, cooking oil and other staples rose.
“This rise in food and fuel prices is compounded by near paralysis in the banking sector, slowdown in remittances and widespread limits on cash availability,” said WFP.
