Saturday March 27 marked the bloodiest day of repression in Burma since the coup d’état of 1is February. At least 90 people have died, including children. The condemnations of the international community were not slow to rain. And despite the violence, the demonstrators decided not to be impressed by the ongoing repression and took to the streets of the country again on Sunday. These activists for the restoration of democracy had called for new demonstrations on Saturday.
This day was the day when the army organizes every year a gigantic parade in front of the head of the army, now at the head of the junta, General Min Aung Hlaing. “At least 90 people [avaient] were killed ”at nightfall on Saturday, said the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local NGO which records the death toll since the putsch. Local media report 114 dead. The number of deaths since the coup d’état of 1is February rose to at least 423, according to the AAPP.
United States, United Kingdom, Germany… strong condemnation of the international community
On Sunday, the Burmese once again took to the streets to demand a return to democracy, and numerous funerals were due to take place across the country, which is recovering from its bloodiest day since the putsch. Despite the danger, protesters took to the streets again in some parts of Yangon, including Hlaing, and in the towns of Dawei, Bago and Monywa on Sunday.
“A girl was shot in the head and died in hospital, while two men were shot dead on the spot,” a rescuer from Monywa told Agence France-Presse. In Hlaing, a 16-year-old boy lost his hand in an explosion, trying to return a grenade thrown by security forces at protesters, a rescue worker said. In Mandalay, the family of Aye Ko, a father of four who was killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday, paid tribute to him in a ceremony on Sunday. “He was the only one to feed the family, losing him is a great loss for us,” a relative told Agence France-Presse.
The heads of the defense forces of twelve countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Japan and Germany, condemned on the night of Saturday to Sunday the use of force by the Burmese army against “armed” civilians. “A professional army follows international standards of conduct and has a responsibility to protect the people it serves, not to harm them,” they say in a rare joint statement. “We urge the Myanmar armed forces to end the violence and work to restore respect and credibility to the Burmese people they have lost because of their actions,” they continue.
Residential areas affected, according to an NGO
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “horrified” by the “terror” of the Burmese military. His British counterpart Dominic Raab considered that the junta had crossed a “new level” in the repression. The US Embassy in Yangon called on its citizens to limit their movements on Sunday, calling on them to be “careful” if they had to travel. The American Cultural Center in Yangon was the target of gunfire on Saturday.
On the traditional Armed Forces Day on Saturday, General Min Aung Hlaing again defended the coup, denouncing alleged irregularities in the November legislative elections, won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. Violence has spread across the country, with the military using live ammunition in more than forty townships in nine regions, including Yangon, the country’s largest city, according to the AAPP.
“Junta forces fired automatic weapons on residential areas, killing many civilians, including six children between the ages of ten and sixteen,” the NGO said. “The fact that the illegitimate military regime targets children is a serious act of inhumanity. A journalist from Kyeikhto County, Southeast Mon State, was shot in the leg.
A first air attack against a group of armed rebels?
Meanwhile, an armed rebel group from the Karen ethnic minority, the Karen National Union, claimed to have been bombarded by junta hunters in the east on Saturday, hours after the rebel group seized a military base. The authorities had not reacted to these accusations by Sunday morning.
Hsa Moo, of the Karen ethnicity and human rights activist, said three people were killed and at least eight injured. “People are worried about whether the airstrikes will happen again today,” she told Agence France-Presse. This action marks the first air attack in this state in years. The target, the Fifth Brigade of the National Karen Union (KNU), is one of the largest armed groups in the country and claims to represent the Karen people.
In London, the Burmese embassy confirmed on Sunday that the ambassador met Aung San Suu Kyi’s youngest son last week. Kim, 44, reiterated her request to speak to her mother by phone. The former head of the civilian government has been held incommunicado since 1is February in a residence in the Burmese capital.
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