YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Police in Myanmar repeatedly used tear gas and rubber bullets on Tuesday against crowds protesting last month’s coup, but the protesters regrouped after each salvo and tried to defend themselves with barricades as the clashes between protesters and security forces were stepped up.
Authorities have stepped up their repression against the protests in recent days. The United Nations said it believed at least 18 people died on Sunday when security forces shot at crowds, while a rights group said more than 1,000 people were detained over the weekend, including an Associated Press reporter. A lawyer for the journalist said he has been charged with a crime that could put him in prison for up to three years.
Despite the increasingly brutal crackdown, protesters have continued to flood the streets – and are beginning to more rigorously oppose attempts to disperse them. Hundreds, many with construction helmets and makeshift shields, gathered in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, where police repeatedly fired tear gas the day before. They dragged bamboo sticks and rubble to form barricades, chanted slogans and sang songs to the police. They even threw banana peels in front of them to slow down the police.
The mostly young protesters fled in panic whenever tear gas canisters were fired, but soon returned to their barricades. Videos posted on social media showed similar chaotic scenes in the Insein neighborhood of northern Yangon.
Protesters also took up their flags and banners to march through the streets of Dawei, a small town in southeastern Myanmar where major anti-coup demonstrations take place almost daily. A group of protesters were targeted by security forces as they entered a narrow street to pay tribute to the home of a man who died in Sunday’s crackdown. Another was attacked on the main street in the center of the city.
Police also spread protests in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, on Tuesday.
According to the UN Human Rights Agency, Yangon, Dawei and Mandalay were some of the cities where security forces reportedly fired live ammunition at the crowds on Sunday. There were reports that they were also firing live rounds on Tuesday, but those could not be immediately confirmed.
Some fear that the junta’s escalating use of violence is intended to provoke a violent response from the protesters – who have remained largely nonviolent – to discredit them and justify even tougher action. Videos from the past few days show a greater number of protesters trying to hold out and throw objects at the police.
“I beg the people of Myanmar not to fall into this trap, so to remain peaceful,” said Christine Schraner Burgener of the UN Special Envoy to Myanmar in an interview with CNN, acknowledging that it was easier for her to safe from violence. protest peacefully. She also accused authorities of spreading rumors about the conditions of people in detention to fuel even more anger in the streets.
The February 1 coup reversed the years of slow progress towards democracy in Myanmar after five decades of military rule. It came on the day that a newly elected parliament would take office. Leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s impeached National League for Democracy party is said to have been installed for a second five-year term, but was instead detained along with President Win Myint and other senior officials.
The military government has accused 75-year-old Suu Kyi of several crimes that critics say were made up only to detain her and possibly prevent her from participating in the military’s promised elections in a year’s time. Her party says it does not know where Suu Kyi – who has a long history of campaigning for democracy in Myanmar – is being held.
The weekend’s crackdown led to international condemnation. In addition to using force, authorities have also detained more than 1,000 people, according to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
That was at least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of the AP, which was detained while reporting on the protests. His lawyer said on Tuesday that he and five other journalists from Myanmar have been accused of violating a law on public order. The AP has labeled his detention arbitrary and called for his immediate release.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the use of force and arbitrary arrests “unacceptable,” his spokesman said. The US, UK and other governments expressed similar concerns.
But the military has shown no signs of a decline.
The protesters and their supporters have appealed for help from abroad, but there are few prospects for sweeping intervention. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional group of 10 countries, is seeking consensus among its members, making it unlikely that any strong action will be taken. A virtual meeting Tuesday of the group’s foreign ministers ended with just a statement – issued by the group chairman, rather than a joint statement – calling for an end to the violence and talks to try to reach a peaceful settlement.
The UN’s independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has proposed that countries could impose a global embargo on arms sales to Myanmar and “tough, targeted and coordinated sanctions” against those responsible for the coup , violence and other rights. abuse.
But any concerted action at the United Nations would be difficult, as two permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia, would almost certainly veto it. Some countries have imposed or are considering imposing their own sanctions.
Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia contributed to this report.