Coup d’état in Myanmar: Chinese factories burned and at least 38 dead in deadliest day since military took power

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The worst victims were in an industrial suburb of the largest city of Yangon, where military and police opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing at least 22 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group, which said it was Hlaingthaya district ‘became like a battlefield. “

An unverified image shows a protester nestling under an improvised shield while holding the shirt of a fallen fellow protester.

At least 16 people were killed in other regions of the country on Sunday, including in the second city of Mandalay and in Bago, where state media said a police officer died of a chest wound after a confrontation with protesters, Reuters reported. This is the second police officer reported dead in the protests.

The weekend’s fatalities bring the death toll since the coup to at least 126 people, according to the AAPP.

The Chinese embassy in Myanmar said several China-funded factories were destroyed and set on fire in Yangon’s industrial zone during protests on Sunday. According to the embassy, ​​Chinese civilians were also injured

It is unclear who the perpetrators were and no group has claimed responsibility for the fires.

“China urges Myanmar to take further effective measures to stop all acts of violence, punish the perpetrators in accordance with the law and ensure the safety of human life and property of Chinese companies and personnel in Myanmar,” CGTN quoted. statement from the embassy.

Protesters against the coup were suspicious of China, with frequent protests against the Chinese embassy in Yangon and protesters accusing Beijing of supporting the coup and junta.

While China has not outright condemned the military takeover, it backed a United Nations Security Council statement saying it “strongly condemns violence against peaceful protesters” and called on the military to “exercise extreme restraint”.

In its statement on Sunday, China called on protesters in Myanmar to legally voice their demands and not undermine bilateral ties with China.

Smoke rises as protests against military coup and the detention of elected government members continue on March 14 in Hlaingtharya Township, Yangon.

After the bloodshed, the military junta put under martial law in Hlaingthaya, one of the city’s largest districts where many poor factory workers live, according to state-run news channel MRTV. Local media reported that martial law has also been declared in Yangon’s Shwepyithar district. On Monday, the military declared martial law in four more townships in Yangon: North Dagon, North Okkalapa, South Dagon and Dagon Seikkan – areas where most of the city’s factories are located.

Martial law under the junta regime means that the military commander of the Yangon region will have “full administrative and judicial authority” in districts where martial law has been declared, local media outlet Myanmar Now said.

According to internet monitoring service NetBlocks, mobile networks remained “nationwide” despite the internet connection restored on Monday after a shutdown for the 29th consecutive night. Protesters and journalists relied on their cell phones to live stream demonstrations and document police action.

‘People have the right to defend themselves’

As protests continue across Myanmar, the leader of a group of lawmakers expelled by the military has vowed to pursue a “revolution” to overthrow the ruling junta.

Mahn Win Khaing Than, who spoke publicly for the first time before the coup, said in a video address on Facebook: “ This is the darkest moment in the nation and the moment when dawn has arrived. close to.”

Mahn Win Khaing Than, along with other outcast lawmakers from the ruling National League for Democracy Party (NLD), remains in hiding. With civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint under house arrest, former lawmakers have formed a parallel civilian government – called the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – pushing for international recognition as the legitimate government.

“To create a federal democracy, which all the ethnic brothers, who for decades have suffered different kinds of oppression from the dictatorship, have really longed for, this revolution is the opportunity for us to bring our efforts together,” says Mahn Win. Khaing Than, who is an ethnic Karen, said.

He also said the civilian government “would try to pass the required laws so that people have the right to defend themselves” against the military action, Reuters reported.

The military considers the CRPH illegal and has warned that anyone working with them will be charged with treason. The CRPH has declared Myanmar’s military a “terrorist organization,” according to Reuters.

On Sunday, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, released a statement condemning the “ continued bloodshed in the country as the military defies international calls, including from the Security Council, for restraint, dialogue and full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. “

“The special envoy has heard personally from contacts in Myanmar who have reported heartbreaking reports of murders, beatings of protesters and torture of prisoners over the weekend,” she said.

According to the AAPP, 2,156 people had been arrested, charged or convicted on Sunday in connection with the military coup, and about 100 protesters – including students and youth – were arrested on Sunday.

Why is Myanmar protesting?

Protests have been raging across Myanmar for more than a month after the military seized power with a coup d’état on Feb. 1, detained democratically elected leaders, ousted the ruling government and established a junta called the State Administration Council.
The military, led by coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing, justified the takeover by claiming widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 general election, which brought another overwhelming victory to Suu Kyi’s party and diminished hopes for some military figures that a opposition party they had supported could democratically take over power.

The now reformed election commission denied that there was any evidence of massive voter fraud.

It was only the second democratic vote since the previous military junta began a series of reforms in 2011, after half a century of brutal military rule that plunged Myanmar, then known as Burma, into poverty and isolationism.

Relatives and friends respond during the funeral procession of 21-year-old Ko Saw Pyae Naing, who was killed in anti-coup protests in Mandalay, Myanmar on March 14.
Protesters are demanding that the military return power to the civil power and are calling for the release of Suu Kyi and other government figures. Myanmar’s many ethnic groups, who have long fought for greater autonomy for their country, are also demanding that the 2008 military-written constitution be abolished and a federal democracy established.
In addition to protests, a civil disobedience movement has seen thousands of white collar workers and workers, from medics, bankers and lawyers to teachers, engineers and factory workers, leaving their jobs as a form of resistance to the coup.
In recent weeks, the military has stepped up its response to the protests by launching a nationwide systematic crackdown with security forces opening fire on protesters. Amnesty International said the military was using increasingly deadly tactics and weapons normally seen on the battlefield against peaceful protesters and bystanders, and that troops – proven to have violated human rights in conflict areas – have been deployed on the streets. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar said the military’s “brutal response” to peaceful protests “likely meets the legal threshold for crimes against humanity.”

Despite the danger, thousands of young protesters have continued to challenge the military. The demonstrations are dominated by young people who have grown up with a level of democracy and political and economic freedoms that their parents or grandparents did not have, and who say they are fighting for their future.

CNN’s Hira Humayun and Richard Roth contributed to the reporting.

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