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YANGON: Police in Myanmar’s former capital Bagan opened fire on Sunday (March 7) on protesters protesting last month’s military takeover, injuring several people, according to eyewitness accounts and videos on social media. .
At least five people were reportedly injured as police tried to break up the Bagan protest, and the photos showed a young man with bloody wounds on his chin and neck, believed to have been caused by a rubber bullet. Bullet casings collected at the scene indicated that actual rounds were also fired.
The city, located in the central region of Mandalay, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of the more than 2,000 pagodas or their remains that still stand there, dating from the 9th to 13th centuries, when it was the capital of a kingdom that later became known as Burma and is now Myanmar.
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Bagan is best known for being one of the country’s top tourist attractions, but it has also been the scene of large protests against the military’s seizure of power on February 1.
Riot police officers mobilize to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday, March 7, 2021 (Photo: AP).
Large protests have occurred daily in many cities and towns in Myanmar, and the security forces have responded with increased use of deadly force and mass arrests. At least 18 protesters were shot dead on February 28 and 38 on Wednesday, according to the UN Human Rights Office. More than 1,500 have been arrested, the independent Political Prisoner Assistance Association said.
Protests elsewhere on Sunday, including the two largest cities of Yangon and Mandalay, were also met with the use of force by police, firing warning shots and using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades.
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Multiple reports from Yangon said there were also police raids on Saturday night to capture organizers and supporters of the protest movement. A district chairman of the Aung San Suu Kyi National League for Democracy party, who was ousted from power in the coup, was found dead in a military hospital Sunday morning by other residents of his Pabedan neighborhood, according to a publication. on Facebook of the legislator of the NLD Sithu. Maung.
Protesters disperse as riot police fire tear gas behind a makeshift barricade in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday, March 7, 2021 (Photo: AP).
Anti-coup protesters unload fire extinguishers to counter the impact of tear gas fired by police during a demonstration in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Sunday, March 7, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Suspicions on social media were rampant that 58-year-old Khin Maung Latt died of a beating in custody after being removed from his residence, but the official cause of death was not immediately announced.
In Yangon and elsewhere, police and soldiers carry out raids every night after the 8pm curfew. Arrests are often carried out at gunpoint, without a warrant.
In videos taken Saturday night and posted online, sporadic shots of heavy weapons could be heard in some neighborhoods.
The escalation of violence has put pressure on the world community to act to contain the junta. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under a strict military regime that led to isolation and international sanctions.
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Aung San Suu Kyi’s party led the return to civilian rule with a landslide electoral victory in 2015 and an even greater margin of votes last year. He was reportedly installed for a second five-year term last month, but instead Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other members of the government were placed in military detention.
On Saturday there was a rare bright note as protesters in the central town of Monywa poured beer cans on their feet and those of bystanders to show their contempt for the brewery’s owners – the military. Myanmar beer is one of the trade concerns in the country that is linked to the generals and has seen its sales drop in the weeks after the coup. It also lost its Japanese partner, Kirin, who announced that it would withdraw from the joint venture as a result of the takeover.
In neighboring Thailand, several thousand people, both Thai and Myanmar, demonstrated in front of the United Nations regional office on Sunday to draw attention to the crisis and their desire for international action to end violence in board.
“I have a good life here, but I fight for my relatives, family and friends in Myanmar. From day one (when) the military took our leader, we are here, ”said Aye Nanda Soe, 26, who works in digital marketing and lives in Bangkok with her mother and brother, while her father resides in Yangon. “We want the UN to protect our people first and then help our leader. My people are no longer safe. “
