‘THEY ARE KILLING PEOPLE JUST LIKE KILLING BIRDS AND CHICKENS:’ CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS CONTINUE IN MYANMAR

Sun 07 March 2021:

Tens of thousands of people came out in Myanmar on Sunday in one of the biggest days of protest against the coup, despite overnight raids by security forces in the main city, Yangon, on campaign leaders and opposition activists.

The protests on Sunday come as state-run media warned legislators involved in the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group claiming to be the legitimately elected government of Myanmar, that they were committing “high treason” and could be sentenced to death or 22 years jail.

Protesters denouncing the military junta had been quite festive and less tense until Feb. 28 when security forces killed 18 people in several cities, including the commercial city of Yangon.

Several people have been wounded and arrested in #Bagan, one of Myanmar’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as police and soldiers fired live ammunition on anti-regime protesters on Sunday morning. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/SllYKSmT9y

— The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) March 7, 2021

Police, reinforced by soldiers, were out early and opened fire on protesters in different parts of Yangon, resulting in the deaths of at least five people, after crowds defied stun grenades and tear gas.

The biggest turnout in Sunday’s protests was in Myanmar’s second city, Mandalay, where activists staged a sit-in protest after two minutes of silence in honour of people killed by police and the army, video showed.

The United Nations says security forces have killed more than 50 people since daily protests began after the military overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February.

“They are killing people just like killing birds and chickens,” one protest leader said to the crowd in Dawei, in the country’s south. “What will we do if we don’t revolt against them? We must revolt.”

More than 1,700 people had been detained under the junta by Saturday, according to figures from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an advocacy group.

Anti-coup protesters in Myingyan in Mandalay Region gathered in front of the town’s hospital on Sunday, where soldiers were stationed. Security forces then opened gunfire on the crowd to disperse protesters, injuring one person in the leg. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/0rEcgDpN81

— Myanmar Now (@Myanmar_Now_Eng) March 7, 2021

Overnight in the city, residents said soldiers and police moved into several districts, firing shots and arresting at least three in Kyauktada Township. Residents said they did not know the reason for the arrests.

“They are asking to take out my father and brother. Is no one going to help us? Don’t you even touch my father and brother. Take us too if you want to take them,” one woman screamed as two people, an actor and his son, were led off.

Soldiers also came looking for a lawyer who worked for the NLD but were unable to find him, Sithu Maung, a member of the now-dissolved parliament, said in a Facebook post.

“U Maung Maung’s brother was beaten by police and soldiers and his body was held in an upside-down position while he was tortured because there was no one to arrest,” the deposed legislator said.

“Detainees were punched and kicked with military boots, beaten with police batons and then dragged into police vehicles,” AAPP said in a statement. “Security forces entered residential areas and tried to arrest further protesters, and shot at the homes, destroying many.”

The monitoring group also said 21-year-old Ko Naing Min Ko died in Mandalay on Saturday after being shot in the leg and beaten by security forces the previous day.

People connected to the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party were also responsible for two deaths on Saturday morning in the Magway region – a 17-year-old youth and an NLD party official, according to AAPP.

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