Its security forces Myanmar killed at least one protester today, according to an eyewitness, as ousted lawmakers are examining whether the International Criminal Court can investigate crimes against humanity following the February 1st coup.
The army and police are using increasingly violent tactics to quell anti-junta protests, but this has not stopped civilians, with large crowds re-assembling in several cities, according to AMPE.
The security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters in the city of Aungban in central Myanmar and opened fire, according to media and an eyewitness.
This witness stated that saw a man fall dead and heard that there were other victims. The news website Kanbawza Tai wrote on Facebook that there were six dead.
The repression is intense in the financial capital of Myanmar, the Rangoon.
“Murders, torture, destruction of houses and property, looting” These are the tactics used by security forces against civilians, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP).
“The junta is cultivating a climate of fear and submission,” the non-governmental organization added.
Citizens are “forced at gunpoint to destroy the roadblocks” set up by protesters in recent days.
The total death toll is at least 224, according to the AAPP. The actual death toll could be higher as many of those arrested are being held in secret locations and are being ignored.
A junta spokesman said security forces used force only when necessary, which critics of the coup rejected.
In the meantime the envoy to UN Myanmar, which has publicly denounced the junta, said a committee of ousted lawmakers was examining how the military could be held accountable for the violence that followed the coup.
“The ICC is an option,” said Kiao Moe Tun. “Our country does not participate in the ICC, but we must (…) consider ways and means to bring the case before it.”
In Geneva, UN human rights experts have denounced the forced deportations, arbitrary arrests and killings of pro-democracy protesters. They also pointed out that foreign governments should consider bringing to justice those responsible for crimes against humanity.
Mass exit
In this climate, many Rangoon residents are now fleeing the city of about 5 million people, in several districts of which martial law has been imposed.
Long queues vehicles full of household items and basic necessities were formed on the roads leading out of the city, according to images broadcast by local media.
On social networking sites, many users are encouraging Rangoon residents to leave because “the situation in the city is horrible,” but some are asking them to stay out of “solidarity.”
On the other side of the border, the Thai authorities are preparing for a large influx of migrants.
“We can accommodate 30,000 to 50,000,” said the governor of Tak province.
Some 90,000 Myanmar refugees are already living along the 1,800-kilometer border that separates the two countries after fleeing their homes after decades of civil war between the military and rebels.
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