A woman has reportedly been shot and killed as police in Myanmar escalated a violent crackdown on anti-coup protesters, firing teargas and rubber bullets and detaining dozens of people. Protesters who attempted to gather for peaceful rallies on Saturday were met with an aggressive response by security forces in the two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, and in the central town of Monywa, where a woman was shot dead, according to local media reports.
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Myanmar police try to crush protests as envoy pleads with UN for action
One woman reportedly shot dead as Kyaw Moe Tun says strongest possible action needed to end military coup
Police have cracked down on protesters in Myanmar to prevent opponents of military rule gathering and one woman has been killed, media reported, hours after the country’s ambassador to the United Nations pleaded for international action to restore democracy.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.
Continue reading...With VPNs and fancy dress, Myanmar youth fight ‘turning back of the clock’
For a generation used to freedoms that have come with democracy, going back to military rule is unthinkable
In the searing afternoon sun, Myo, 21, stood in front of a police barricade near Yangon’s Sule Pagoda – one of just a handful of protesters to gather at the rallying point on Wednesday. He stood alone, a towel wrapped around his neck to soak up the sweat, and held a sign that read “humanity” in front of the officers.
“The military took away my future,” said the digital artist. “My work can no longer pay me. This country had barely started trying to develop and now it’s 2021. I don’t know what made them think they should stage a coup.”
Continue reading...Pro-choice protests in Warsaw and Myanmar coup: 20 photos on human rights this week
A roundup of the best photography on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Algeria to Uganda
Police shoot into crowd in Myanmar as first pro-military rally takes place – video
Police officers shot into a crowd of pro-democracy protesters in Yangon's Tamwe township in Myanmar, as thousands continued to rally against the military coup across the country.
Hundreds of people took part in the first pro-military demonstration in Yangon on Thursday, with the crowd a fraction of the size of anti-coup protests
Continue reading...Myanmar military supporters attack anti-coup protesters
At least two people stabbed after pro-junta demonstrators march through central Yangon
Supporters of Myanmar’s military armed with iron rods, catapults and knives have attacked anti-coup protesters in Yangon after weeks of rallies calling for the return of democracy in the country.
At least two people were stabbed in the attacks, which occurred after hundreds of pro-military demonstrators marched through central Yangon towards the main railway station. Pro-democracy supporters met them with crossed wrists, banging pots and pans.
Continue reading...Aung San Suu Kyi tattoos flourish among Myanmar’s resistance
Studios report surge in requests for tattoos of the deposed civilian leader – and some are using their profits to support protesters
In the last three weeks, Ye, 37, has inked more images of Aung San Suu Kyi than throughout his 19 years of tattooing.
“We love and respect her because she has sacrificed so much for us,” he says, showing a photo of his latest artwork – a lifelike rendering of the deposed Myanmar leader, complete with jasmine flowers, on a woman’s back.
Continue reading...Fears for Rohingya stranded at sea for 10 days, as engines fail and eight die
UN calls for boat to be rescued, saying ‘immediate action’ needed to ‘prevent further tragedy’
The United Nations refugee agency has called for the immediate rescue of a group of Rohingya refugees adrift in their boat in the Andaman Sea without food or water, many of them ill and suffering from extreme dehydration.
The UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) said it did not know the exact location of the vessel and understood that some passengers had died. The boat had left southern Bangladesh about 10 days ago and experienced engine failure, it said.
Continue reading...Myanmar protesters hold general strike as crowds gather for ‘five twos revolution’
Protesters compare date – 22.2.2021 – to 8 August 1988, when military cracked down on pro-democracy rallies
Protesters across Myanmar have held a general strike, taking to the streets across the country and shutting many businesses, in one of the largest nationwide shows of opposition to the military since it seized power three weeks ago.
Crowds assembled in Yangon, Naypyidaw, Mandalay and elsewhere on Monday, despite an apparent threat from the junta that it would again use deadly violence against demonstrators.
Continue reading...Myanmar coup: Facebook shuts down military’s main page as well-known actor arrested
Lu Min taken from his home on Yangon as demonstrators take to streets in Mandalay after death of two protesters there on Saturday
Myanmar police have arrested a well-known actor wanted for opposing the military coup as Facebook deleted the military’s main page, saying it breached its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence.
Lu Min was one of six celebrities who the army said on Wednesday were wanted under an anti-incitement law for encouraging civil servants to join in the protest. The charges can carry a two-year prison sentence.
Continue reading...Myanmar coup: witnesses describe killing of protesters as unrest continues
Condemnation of military comes from around world as Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest
Witnesses have described the moment Myanmar’s security forces opened fire on protesters, killing two people, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets again on Sunday in defiance of the military.
A young man and a teenage boy are believed to have been killed in Mandalay on Saturday when police, supported by frontline troops, used live ammunition to break up crowds of protesters opposing the military coup.
Continue reading...Myanmar: police use rubber bullets and teargas in bloodiest day of protest yet – video
Two anti-coup protesters in Myanmar were shot dead on Saturday by riot police who fired live rounds, local media reported. The deaths occurred in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, after security forces ratcheted up their pressure against protesters, using water cannon, teargas, slingshots and rubber bullets
Continue reading...Myanmar coup: at least two protesters shot dead by riot police
Second reported victim, a 36-year-old carpenter, was shot in the chest and died en route to hospital
At least two anti-coup protesters in Myanmar have been shot dead by riot police, emergency workers have said, amid continuing demonstrations demanding an end to military rule and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
The deaths, in the country’s second-largest city Mandalay, mark the bloodiest day in more than two weeks of increasingly fraught protests as a civil disobedience movement grows.
Continue reading...Myanmar: memorials held for protester shot by police – video report
Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar have paid tribute to the young woman who died a day earlier after being shot by police during a demonstration against the military takeover. Impromptu memorials were held in Yangon, Mandalay and the capital city, Naypyidaw, where Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing was shot on 9 February, two days before her 20th birthday
- Myanmar coup: fresh demonstrations follow death of protester
- Myanmar protester shot in head during police crackdown dies
Myanmar protester shot in head during police crackdown dies
Grocery store worker Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, 20, is the first protest fatality since military took control in coup two weeks ago
A woman who was shot in the head by police during protests in Myanmar last week has died – the first protest fatality since the military took control in a coup more than two weeks ago.
Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, 20, had been on life support since being taken to hospital on 9 February after she was hit by what doctors said was a live bullet at a protest in the capital, Naypyitaw.
Continue reading...‘Broken-down’ cars bring Myanmar streets to standstill in coup protest
Protesters try to block movement of security forces and civil servants, while hackers targets military
Some of the busiest streets in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, have been brought to a standstill for a second day running by slow-moving and “broken-down” cars, as part of an evolving civil disobedience movement against the military coup.
Cars were parked across roads to block the movement of security forces and prevent civil servants from travelling to work. Some protesters walked in circles around a pedestrian crossing at a busy intersection. “Don’t attend the office, leave it. Join the civil disobedience movement,” protesters chanted.
Continue reading...Fresh protests in Myanmar after Aung San Suu Kyi trial begins in secret
Court case begins a day early, without the knowledge of her lawyer and with fresh charges
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Myanmar’s main city Yangon on Wednesday morning to voice their anger after the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi began ahead of schedule and without the knowledge or presence of her lawyer.
Across Yangon, protesters marched with red flags signalling their support for their ousted leader, and carrying signs denouncing the military. Roads were blocked by sit down protests, and by drivers who held a “broken down” protest, parking their cars with bonnets open.
Continue reading...Myanmar military files new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi
Junta holds first press conference and describes coup as lawful, as internet shut for second night
Myanmar’s military regime has filed a new charge against the deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and shut down the internet for a second night as it tries to quell a popular revolt against the coup it launched at the beginning of the month.
The junta held its first press conference on Tuesday, seeking in part to limit the economic and diplomatic fallout of its takeover, which it described as lawful. It said it would hold an election soon and denounced protesters for allegedly inciting violence and intimidating civil servants.
Continue reading...Myanmar: troops and police forcefully disperse marchers in Mandalay
Protests against military coup continue despite overnight internet blackout and extra soldiers deployed
Troops have joined police in forcefully dispersing marchers in the city of Mandalay in northern Myanmar, as protests against the military coup continued despite the deployment of extra soldiers in some areas and an eight-hour internet blackout overnight.
Images and reports from the city on Monday showed police and soldiers using rubber bullets and slingshots to disperse protesters. A student union in the city said several people had been injured.
Continue reading...‘They want division’: on patrol with Myanmar’s civilian night watch
Since the coup, people in Yangon have been patrolling the streets to protect neighbours from overnight military raids and criminals
Sitting next to a makeshift barricade of bamboo and recycled metal, Aung Than, 30, a tour operator, says he is ready to die for his street. “A life on this street is worth more than mine,” he says. “I am ready to exchange my life to protect them if it comes to that.”
Protests against the 1 February coup have grown in recent days in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. Meanwhile, nights are filled with an eerie silence, punctuated by bursts of clashing pots and pans in support of the detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the clamour of mobs chasing down lone figures.
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