YANGON - Several protesters were injured on Tuesday (Feb 9) after Myanmar's regime began tightening the noose around the growing movement to resist the military's Feb 1 seizure of power.
Police meanwhile raided the Yangon headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party which was ousted from power in the coup. The raid was carried out by two dozen police officers who forced their way into the building after dark, Reuters reported lawmakers as saying.
Earlier on Tuesday, the streets teemed with protesters for the fourth straight day despite a ban on public gatherings of more than five people that had been imposed on selected districts across the nation on Monday night (Feb 8).
While the demonstrations were relatively peaceful in Yangon, ugly confrontations flared up in Mandalay and Naypyitaw, with police deploying tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets.
At least one person was critically injured, a woman in Naypyitaw who was hit in the head by a bullet shown on the X-ray to be live, according to Reuters.
The police had fired their guns - mostly in the air - to try to clear protesters. Four people were taken to hospital with what doctors initially believed to be rubber-bullet wounds, the agency said.
An X-ray showed that a bullet was lodged in the woman's head, a doctor told Reuters. "She hasn't died yet, she's in the emergency unit, but it's 100 per cent certain the injury is fatal," the doctor said.
The crackdown elicited a statement of concern from the United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar.
"I call on the security forces to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression," said Mr Ola Almgren. "The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable."
According to local journal Frontier Myanmar, some police officers charged with controlling the crowds in the central town of Magway crossed over to join the protesters, a reminder of the growing defiance civil servants are showing against the administration set up by commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Walkouts among health workers appear to be slowing its coronavirus containment response, with the Ministry of Health and Sports on Monday issuing a plea for staff to return to their posts.
Ousted state counsellor Suu Kyi, leader of the NLD party which won the Nov 8 election, remains under detention incommunicado. She has been charged with breaching Myanmar's import-export law, a crime which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail and/or a fine.
<p>CORRECTION / Police carry a protester as they arrest her during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay on February 9, 2021. (Photo by STR / AFP) / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by STR has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [her] instead of [him]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.”</p>
PHOTO: AFP
<p>epa08998035 Demonstrators shout slogans in front of anti-riot police officers during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, 09 February 2021. Thousands of people continued to rally in Yangon despite stern warnings from the military after days of mass protests. Orders were issued on 08 February in major cities and townships banning people from protesting or gathering in groups of more than five. A nighttime curfew was also imposed. Myanmar's military seized power and declared a state of emergency for one year after arresting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's president and other political figures in an early morning raid on 01 February. EPA-EFE/NYEIN CHAN NAING</p>
PHOTO: EPA
In a televised address on Monday night, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who now chairs a supreme decision-making body called the state administration council, again repeated allegations of election fraud which he has used to justify the one-year state of emergency.
He promised investors a business-friendly environment. "There will be no change in the foreign policy, government policy and economic policy of the country," he said.
Protesters who swarmed Yangon's streets on Tuesday seethed at the restrictions, which include an 8pm to 4am curfew.
"This is a violation of citizens' rights," one of them, who asked not to be named, told The Straits Times. "We just want the dictators to return to the army camps."
The new regime has come under growing international pressure since the United Nations Security Council issued a statement last Thursday (Feb 4) expressing concern about the situation.
Meanwhile, foreign investors are pulling out of high-profile joint ventures with the Tatmadaw's conglomerates.
On Tuesday, Singaporean businessman Lim Kaling, co-founder of gaming peripherals maker Razer, announced he was selling his stake in a cigarette maker majority-owned by the military-linked Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL).
