Myanmar’s military warns that protesters could suffer ‘loss of life’ ahead of the planned mass strike

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“Protesters have been found to have stirred up their incitement and anarchy on the day of February 22. Protesters are now inciting people, especially emotional teens and youth, to a confrontational path where they will suffer the loss of life,” the State Administration Council – the name for the military junta that now controls the country – stated Sunday night on state broadcaster MRTV.

Video from social media on Sunday evening and Monday morning showed barbed wire barriers from roads to some foreign embassies in the largest city, Yangon, the focus of many recent protests. The images also showed what appeared to be police and military vehicles rolling through the streets.

Protesters have called for a general strike, with all offices and shops closed on Mondays. Activists urged all citizens to join the protest, known as the “Five Twos,” referring to Monday’s date.

“Tomorrow 22.2.2021 will be a great historic day. Keep watching us and praying for us, friends,” the main protest activist group, the Civil Disobedience Movement, said in a tweet on Sunday.

Weekend protests

For more than two weeks, thousands of people in villages, towns and villages across Myanmar have begun to protest peacefully or join a nonviolent civil disobedience movement against the military takeover, calling on the generals to return power and release the troops. civic leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected officials.
The junta has tried to stop the protests by banning gatherings of more than five people, curfews and cutting off the internet at night in certain areas. They have also deployed troops in major cities, including members of elite divisions to counter insurrections identified as being involved in human rights abuses and violent campaigns against ethnic minorities.
During the day, Myanmar's protesters are defiant dissenters. At night, they are terrified of being dragged out of their bed by the junta

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma (AAPPB) said at least 640 people have been detained in connection with the coup.

But that didn’t stop the protesters, who gathered in droves on Sunday after the fatal shootings in Mandalay.

In Yangon, protesters marched outside the US embassy with banners saying ‘Help Myanmar’. In Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State in northern Myanmar, protesters could be seen chanting slogans and waving flags while riding motorcycles.

And in the capital, Naypyidaw, crowds gathered to attend the funeral of a young woman who died Friday after being shot in the head during an anti-coup protest. Mya Thweh Thweh Khine, who was shot just before her 20th birthday, was the first known victim of pro-democracy protests.

Video of her funeral procession showed a hearse with her photo in front and a convoy of vehicles driving out of a hospital. As the procession rode through the streets, people on motorcycles and bystanders saw the three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games movies, which have been adopted by protesters.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that the authorities were “taking the utmost restraint by using minimal force” in dealing with the protests. It also said statements and comments from some other countries “amount to blatant interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs.”

In a Facebook post, the ministry called on diplomats to “respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state” and reiterated that there will be “free and fair general elections.” The state of emergency has been in place in Myanmar for a year, but the junta has not set a timetable for holding elections.

International condemnation of military action

Several countries have condemned the coup and the violence against protesters.

Singapore warned on Saturday that there will be “serious adverse consequences” for Myanmar if the situation there continues to escalate. Singapore, the largest foreign investor in Myanmar in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, said it was “inexcusable” for Myanmar police to use lethal weapons against unarmed civilians.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s chief of foreign affairs, urged the military and “all security forces in Myanmar to immediately stop violence against civilians”.

On Sunday in Mandalay, stringers for CNN confirmed that live rounds and tear gas were being used to disperse people during an anti-coup protest in the city. Volunteer aid workers cited by Reuters and AFP news agencies said at least two people were killed when police opened fire on protesters. The news agencies reported that between 20 and 30 people were injured in the crackdown.

The video seen by CNN showed a large crowd of people running from the police and taking cover behind whatever hiding places they could find. Another video showed someone being carried away by medics. The patient’s condition was not immediately apparent.

Defending their actions on Sunday’s state broadcast, the military said they were using “ prescribed methods of dispersing crowds ” and blamed “ some notorious ex-criminals and their gangs ” who “ used sticks, knives, stones, catapults and used other weapon-like equipment to attack members of the security forces. “

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said in a tweet that he was “shocked at more loss of life” as the military “escalates its cruelty in Myanmar”.

“From water cannons to rubber bullets to tear gas and now hardened troops are firing on peaceful protesters. This madness must end now!” he said.

After the shooting, Facebook removed a page operated by the Myanmar military, the company said.

“In accordance with our global policy, we have removed the Tatmadaw True News Information Team page from Facebook for repeated violations of our community standards that prohibit incitement to violence and coordinate harm,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.

CNN’s Radina Gigova in Atlanta and Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong contributed to the reporting.

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