YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Protesters rallied across Myanmar on Sunday, a day after security forces shot two people during a rally in the country’s second-largest city. A funeral was also held for a young woman who had previously been murdered by the police.
Mya Thwet Thwet Khine was the first confirmed death among the many thousands who took to the streets to protest the February 1 coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. The woman was shot at a protest in the capital, Nayptitaw, on February 9, two days before her 20th birthday, and died Friday.
About 1,000 people in cars and bicycles gathered at the hospital Sunday morning where her body was held under tight security, with even the victim’s grandparents denied entry from Yangon, five hours away. When her body was released, a long motorized procession began a ride to the cemetery.
In Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, about 1,000 protesters honored the woman under an elevated roadway.
“I want to say to the dictator and his associates through the media that we are peaceful protesters,” said protester Min Htet Naing. ‘Stop the genocide! Stop using deadly weapons! “
Another major protest took place in Mandalay, where police shot two people dead at a shipyard on Saturday as security forces tried to force workers to load a boat. The workers, such as railway workers and truck drivers and many civil servants, have participated in a campaign of civil disobedience against the junta.
The shooting broke out after local residents rushed to the Yadanabon dock to aid the workers in their resistance. One of the victims, described as a teenage boy, was shot in the head and died instantly, while another was shot in the chest and died on the way to a hospital.
Several other serious injuries have also been reported. Witness reports and pictures of bullet casings indicated that in addition to rubber bullets, water cannons and catapults, the security forces also used live ammunition.
The new deaths provoked swift and strong reactions from the international community.
“The shooting of peaceful protesters in is beyond the borders,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter. “We will, together with our international partners, consider further action against those who crush democracy and stifle dissent.”
Britain last week froze the assets of and imposed travel bans on three leading Myanmar generals in addition to already existing targeted sanctions.
Singapore, which is part of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with Myanmar, has issued a statement condemning the use of deadly force as “inexcusable”.
It urged “extreme restraint” on the part of the security forces, warning that “if the situation continues to escalate, it will have serious adverse consequences for Myanmar and the region.”
Another shooting death took place in Yangon on Saturday evening under unclear circumstances. According to several social media accounts, including a live broadcast showing the body, the victim was a man acting as a volunteer security guard for a neighborhood watch group. Such groups were formed out of fear that authorities were using criminals released from prison to spread panic and fear by starting fires and committing violent acts.
Another live broadcast on Facebook showed actor Lu Min’s wife describing to neighbors how her husband was arrested and taken from their home shortly after midnight. He was one of six high-profile people in the entertainment industry accused last week of inducing officials to retire and join the protest movement, which he and the others have publicly defended.
On Sunday, Facebook announced that it had removed the page of Myanmar’s military information unit “for repeated violations of our community standards prohibiting incitement to violence and coordinating damage”. It had already removed other accounts related to the military.
The junta took power after arresting Suu Kyi and blocking the convening of Parliament because last November’s elections were tainted by voting irregularities. The election result, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won in a landslide, was confirmed by an election committee that has since been replaced by the military. The junta says there will be new elections in a year.
The coup was a major setback to Myanmar’s transition to democracy after 50 years of military rule that began with a coup in 1962. Suu Kyi came to power after her party won an election in 2015, but the generals retained significant power under the constitution, which was passed under a military regime.