Myanmar protesters stay defiant as junta resists external pressure

YANGON • Demonstrators in Myanmar maintained their unflinching opposition to military rule yesterday despite a rising death toll at the hands of security forces as the junta appeared equally determined to resist growing outside pressure to compromise.

One man was killed and several were wounded when police opened fire on a group setting up a barricade in the central town of Monywa, a doctor there said as a community group issued a call on Facebook for blood donors.

The violence has forced people determined to resist a return to military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy to think up novel ways to make their stand.

Protesters in nearly 20 places across the country staged candle-lit protests on Saturday night and into Sunday, from the main city of Yangon to small communities in Kachin state in the north and the southernmost town of Kawthaung, according to a tally of social media posts.

The violence failed to deter hundreds of doctors and nurses donning hard hats and brandishing posters of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they marched through Mandalay yesterday.

Mandalay, Myanmar's cultural capital, has been the scene of some of the worst violence from police and troops since the coup and the local media said the rally was staged at dawn to evade security forces.

"Failure of the military regime, our cause our cause... federal democracy, our cause our cause," the crowd chanted as the sky was beginning to brighten and birds called from the trees lining the otherwise deserted streets.

Protesters in some places were joined by Buddhist monks holding candles while some people used candles to make the shape of the three-finger protest salute. Others came out later yesterday, including the crowd in Monywa, where police opened fire.

"Sniper, sniper," people can be heard shouting in a video clip shortly after the man was shot in the head and more shots rang out.

With the latest killing, the death toll since the coup rose to at least 248, based on a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. The military has said at least two policemen have been killed in the protests.

Western countries have repeatedly condemned the coup and the violence. South-east Asian neighbours, who have for years avoided criticising one another, have also begun speaking out.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, in some of the strongest comments yet by a regional leader, said on Friday the violence should stop immediately. He called for an urgent meeting of an Asean summit.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin backed the call, saying he was appalled by the persistent use of lethal violence against civilians. Singapore has also expressed its disapproval.

Death toll since the Feb 1 coup.

The military has shown no sign of being pressed into back-tracking on its coup, which derailed a slow transition to democracy in a country that was under strict military rule from a 1962 coup until the generals initiated reforms a decade ago.

The junta says a Nov 8 election won by Ms Suu Kyi's party was fraudulent, an accusation rejected by the electoral commission. The military leaders have promised a new election but have not set a date.

General Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader, on Saturday visited the Coco islands, one of Myanmar's most strategically important outposts, 400km south of Yangon, and reminded members of the armed forces there that their main duty was to defend the country against external threats.

The islands are near some of the world's most important shipping routes, in waters where China and India seek to project their power. Neither of the Asian giants has spoken out strongly against the coup and the violence.

The state-run Kyemon newspaper prominently featured a quote from independence hero Aung San, Ms Suu Kyi's father, who in 1947 said: "It is everyone's duty to sacrifice their lives and defend and fight back against foreign countries' insults."

Ms Suu Kyi, 75, faces accusations of bribery and other crimes that could see her banned from politics and jailed if convicted.

In Yangon yesterday, mourners bade farewell to a 26-year-old who died on Saturday while in custody after being shot and arrested the night before. Mr Myo Myint Aung's mother cried over the coffin at the funeral service, saying her son was still a child in her eyes.

"I am really proud of what you did for democracy and this country," she said, in a video of the funeral service posted on social media. "You are a real hero."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE