Contemporary anti-coup protests hit Myanmar after night time of lethal raids | Navy Information

Activists called for further anti-coup protests in Myanmar on Saturday, the anniversary of the death of a student whose killing in 1988 sparked widespread anti-government protests and led to the emergence of Aung San Suu Kyi as an icon of democracy.

The calls came after a nightly crackdown by security forces that killed at least three people and injured several in two townships in Yangon.

In Thaketa parish, two people were confirmed dead in an incident before dawn on Saturday, while in Hlaing parish one person was shot in the head and later died while at least three others were injured.

Several people were reportedly arrested or beaten by authorities on Friday evening after a nationwide candlelight vigil for murdered protesters.

In the early morning of Saturday, military and police forces also met at the Insein Railways Compound, what activists on social media referred to as a “siege”.

A video posted on social media also showed several protesters trying to help a seriously injured person who was shot and killed on Saturday morning in the Pyay community in the Bago region.

Police grabbed a boy to hit him with a button. A local media reported that the victim was an underage man from Mandalay on March 12. Photo credit: Khit Thit Media #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/aFiymHNBIF

– Wa Lone (@ walone4) March 13, 2021

Another video showed alleged theft of privately owned motorcycles by security forces, who reportedly also smashed civilian vehicles at the Thukha Myaing residential complex in Yangon.

An image that also went viral on social media and sparked anger showed an officer snapping and beating a boy in Mandalay on Friday.

8-8-88 campaign

Posters were circulated on social media on Saturday calling for people to take to the streets to protest the military government and to celebrate the anniversary of Phone Maw’s death, who was shot dead by security forces in what was then known as the 1988 area the campus of the Rangoon Institute of Technology.

His shots, and that of another student who died a few weeks later, sparked widespread protests against the military government known as the 8-8-88 Campaign as it peaked in August that year. An estimated 3,000 people were killed when the army put down the uprising.

Dozens of Buddhist monks and nuns from Sitagu International Buddhist University in Sagaing Township in Yangon answered the call and marched peacefully on Saturday morning.

Aung San Suu Kyi was implicated in the movement and was placed under house arrest for nearly two decades. She was released in 2008 when the military began democratic reforms and her National League for Democracy won elections in 2015 and again last November.

On February 1 of this year, the generals overthrew their government and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and many of her cabinet colleagues for alleging fraud in the November elections.

Since then, more than 70 people have been killed in widespread protests in the Southeast Asian nation, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said.

On Friday, one day after the death of 12 people on one of the bloodiest days since the coup, former colonial power Great Britain warned its citizens in Myanmar of the withdrawal, saying: “Political tension and unrest have been rife since the military takeover and that Increase in violence ”.

Test for Biden

The coup in Myanmar, where the military has close ties with China, is an important early test for new US President Joe Biden.

His administration announced a virtual meeting with Indian, Japanese and Australian leaders on Friday, the first official summit of a group known as the Quad, to demonstrate US renewed commitment to regional security.

“As longtime supporters of Myanmar and its people, we emphasize the urgent need to restore democracy and the priority of strengthening democratic resilience,” said the four leaders in a statement released by the White House.

During a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on Friday evening, protesters hold a candlelight vigil and shout slogans [Stringer/AFP]A military government spokesman did not answer calls from Reuters for comment.

UN human rights researcher Thomas Andrews on Friday dismissed a high-ranking Myanmar official as “absurd” comments that the authorities were showing “extreme restraint”.

Before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, he called for a unified approach to “eliminate the junta’s sense of impunity”.

South Korea said Friday it would stop defense exchanges and rethink development aid to Myanmar because of the violence.

The Kremlin said Russia, which is closely linked to the Myanmar military, is concerned about increasing violence and is “analyzing” whether to suspend military-technical cooperation.

“We rate the situation as alarming and are concerned about the information about the growing number of civilian casualties coming from there,” the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Earlier this week, the UN Security Council removed language from a statement condemning the takeover of the army as a coup and threatening possible further action due to opposition from China, Russia, India and Vietnam.

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