Myanmar coup: security forces must ‘stop murdering protesters’, UN urges after deadliest day
- Protesters returned to the streets on Thursday after 38 died on the bloodiest day since the February 1 coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government
- ‘Yesterday was horrific … it was devastating to learn the military in Myanmar has never changed since 1962,’ one activist said
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At least 54 people have been killed and more than 1,700 detained since Myanmar’s February 1 coup, the UN rights chief said on Thursday, demanding the military halt its “vicious crackdown”.
“Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protesters,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement, insisting it was “utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country”.
At least 38 people died on Wednesday, according to the UN, when online images streamed out of Myanmar showing security forces firing into crowds and blood-covered bodies of protesters with bullet wounds in their heads.
“Yesterday was horrific … it was devastating to learn the military in Myanmar has never changed since 1962,” said activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi. But “resistance is now our duty”, she said, pledging to protest every day.
In response to the violence, Singapore’s government on Thursday advised its citizens in Myanmar to leave the country.
‘Bloodiest day’: 38 killed in Myanmar as security forces fire on protesters
Meanwhile, armed Myanmar soldiers and police have been using TikTok to deliver death threats to protesters against last month’s coup, researchers said, prompting the Chinese video-sharing app to announce it was removing content that incites violence.
One video from late February shows a man in army fatigues aiming an assault rifle at the camera and addressing protesters: “I will shoot in your f***ing faces … and I’m using real bullets.”
“I am going to patrol the whole city tonight and I will shoot whoever I see … If you want to become a martyr, I will fulfil your wish.”
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Dozens killed as Myanmar sees one of its worst days of crackdown since coup
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the nation’s decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking daily mass protests.
International pressure is mounting: Western powers have repeatedly hit the generals with sanctions, Britain has called for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, and the United States said it was considering further action after Wednesday’s bloodshed. But the junta has so far ignored the global condemnation, responding to the uprising with escalating force.
Myanmar military urged not to ‘invite’ foreign intervention
“Today was the bloodiest day since the coup happened,” UN envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener told reporters on Wednesday.
She called for the UN to take “very strong measures” against the generals, adding that in her conversations with them, they had dismissed the threat of sanctions.
“We are used to sanctions and we survived the sanctions time in the past,” she said they told her.
“I also warned they will go in an isolation,” she added. They responded by saying “we have to learn to walk with only few friends”.
The Security Council had voiced concern over the state of emergency but Russia and China prevented it from condemning the coup. Burgener said she hoped they would recognise that the crisis “hits the stability of the region … so, I hope that China will realise that it will be important to work together, but also for Russia”.
Wednesday’s violence left the United States “appalled and revulsed”, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “We call on all countries to speak with one voice to condemn the brutal violence by the Burmese military against its own people.”
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He singled out China, which Myanmar’s military has historically considered its main ally.
“China does have influence in the region. It does have influence with the military junta. We have called upon the Chinese to use that influence in a constructive way, in a way that advances the interests of the people of Burma,” Price said, using another name for Myanmar.
The US has led the international resistance so far, imposing targeted sanctions on the coup makers. Price defended the efficacy of sanctions, saying they have a “significant impact” on the military’s ability to wield power and influence. He also said that the US would continue to coordinate closely with like-minded partners and allies around the world.
“Our measures are going to continue to be very tightly targeted at the members of the military,” he said.
Can Asean, the US or China help as Myanmar’s protesters and military dig in?
Wednesday’s violence came on the heels of news that six Myanmar journalists would be charged under a law prohibiting “causing fear, spreading false news, or agitating directly or indirectly a government employee”, according to their lawyer Tin Zar Oo.
Among them is Associated Press photographer Thein Zaw, who was arrested on Saturday as he covered an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon. Video emerged on Wednesday of him being held in a chokehold by police as he was handcuffed.
The United States called for their release and was “forcefully making clear” that their detention was “unacceptable”, Price said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters
