Myanmar coup: military asks security forces not to use live ammunition on protesters
- The military junta’s call came amid international condemnation over Sunday’s crackdown on protesters, in which 18 people died
- Asean foreign ministers will hold a meeting with Myanmar’s military leaders in an effort to open a channel to tackle its escalating political crisis
The announcement was made in a military-run broadcast after the country saw its deadliest protest since the February 1 coup, with the United Nations saying at least 18 protesters were killed and 30 others wounded on Sunday.
“When it comes to crowd dispersal methods, security forces have been instructed not to use live bullets,” the broadcast stated, accusing protesters of instigating violence by using catapults and petrol bombs. “Security forces are allowed to protect themselves when protesters harm their lives by firing shots at the protesters below the waist.”
It was not immediately clear that troops would use only rubbers bullets in their defence.
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Myanmar police opened fire to disperse demonstrators on Tuesday, witnesses said, after protesters, many wearing hard hats and clutching makeshift shields, gathered behind barricades in different parts of the main city of Yangon to chant slogans against military rule.
“If we’re oppressed, there will be explosion. If we’re hit, we’ll hit back,” demonstrators chanted before police moved in firing stun grenades to scatter crowds in at least four different places in the city.
There were no reports of any injuries in Yangon but several people were wounded in the northwestern town of Kale when police fired live ammunition to disperse a crowd, according to a democracy activist and a reporter in the town.
“Several are injured, two are in critical condition,” activist War War Pyone said.
Police also fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters in Yangon on Monday and later combed side streets, firing rubber bullets, after a court brought additional charges against detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi that could keep her behind bars for an even longer period of time. The rising death toll may increase pressure on governments around the world to take more action against Myanmar’s generals, who refused to recognise a landslide election victory by Suu Kyi’s political party in November.
The call to refrain from using live rounds comes as foreign ministers in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations are set to hold an informal meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Myanmar for the first time since the coup, and attempt to open a channel to tackle the escalating political crisis.
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said his Asean counterparts would be frank during the video call and will tell a representative of Myanmar’s military they are appalled by the violence. They will also encourage dialogue between Suu Kyi and the junta. “There is the political leadership … and there is the military leadership, on the other hand. They need to talk, and we need to help bring them together,” he said.
Asean’s efforts to engage with Myanmar’s military were met with a fierce rebuke from groups in the anti-coup movement, including a committee of ousted lawmakers that has declared the junta a “terrorist” group.
Asean has long followed a policy of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of its members, which include Myanmar, and has so far refrained from condemning the military for its actions or referring to the coup.
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Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha reportedly referred to it as a “political issue” that is “their country’s matter.” Indonesia, on the other hand, issued a statement on Sunday calling on security forces to “refrain from the use of force and exercise utmost restraint to avoid further casualties”.
“Instability in Myanmar ultimately creates danger for the rest of us in Southeast Asia, so it’s not a purely Myanmar situation alone,” Singapore Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said on Monday. “Although, as I said, the responsibility for resolving this lies with the authorities in Myanmar.”
The military also said on Monday that more than 1,300 protesters were arrested during nationwide demonstrations.
A Myanmar reporter was attacked in his home and detained by the military, his employer said on Tuesday, as journalists find themselves targeted by police and soldiers as they try to capture the unrest on the streets. In recent days, several have been arrested, including an Associated Press photographer in Yangon.
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A Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporter live-streamed the Monday night attack on his block of flats in the southern city of Myeik as he pleaded for help. Hours later, DVB said on Twitter that reporter Kaung Myat Naing had been taken from his home by security forces.
“DVB has no knowledge of where he was taken away, and which military authority took him,” said the statement. It added that Kaung Myat Naing’s latest reports were on a weekend military crackdown in Myeik, as well as on Monday’s demonstrations.
Loud bangs could be heard during Kaung Myat Naing’s live-stream, which was hosted on DVB’s official Facebook page. “If you are shooting like this, how will I come down?” he shouted at the security forces outside.
DVB, a well-known news organisation within Myanmar, started as an exile media outlet during the previous junta, broadcasting uncensored reports on TV and radio. It moved into Myanmar after the military dictatorship loosened its grip on power in 2011.
Reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters, Agence France-Presse
