“Kill me”: the act of bravery of a nun during the repression in Myanmar

RANGÚN.- “Don’t shoot the children!” Sister Ann Rose Nu Twang kneels, spreads her arms outstretched, and pleads with Burmese forces. To no avail, on the same day, March 8, three pro-democracy protesters were killed in Myanmar.

It is not clear where the shots came from, but the police and military have not shied away from using live ammunition from the start. the peaceful uprising against the coup that overthrew the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, February 1st.

On March 8, several hundred people, including members of the Kachin ethnic group, took to the streets of Mytkyina (north), the usual place of demonstrations since the coup. Among the demonstrators, many Burmese ready to commemorate International Women’s Day.

But late in the morning the environment is deteriorating.

Police and military fired tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse the crowd, who responded by firing projectiles. In the distance, several detonations are heard.

The demonstrators take cover behind barricades of tin, woodwork and hastily erected bricks.

In the crowd, dressed in a white dress, the nun Ann Rose Nu Twang, 45, approaches the security forces.

He kneels down and two policemen do the same, joining their hands in respect for the nun. Others, on the other hand, remain indifferent, according to images broadcast by a local media, the Myitkyina News Journal.

“I begged them not to shoot, that they would kill me instead. I raised my hands in forgiveness, ”said the nun.

“I was not afraid”

But, not far from there, another group of police started shooting, he recalls.

Some images disseminated by social networks show protesters motionless and covered in blood. There is one lying on the ground, face down, his head half torn off.

“It was a moment of panic. I was in the middle and I couldn’t do anything “He explains, although he qualifies: “I was not afraid”.

Two other nuns arrive to support her. “Stop, they are torturing and killing people. That’s why people are angry and protesting, ”says one of them.

Three protesters die. On Tuesday, one of the victims, Zin Min Htet, was buried and a large crowd came to pay their last respects, gathering around his coffin, covered in flowers, and making the three-fingered salute, symbol of the endurance.

Act of bravery

Ann Rose Nu Twang’s act of bravery has been widely shared on social media in this predominantly Buddhist country.

On February 28, the nun had already stood out by kneeling in front of the police to ask them for caution.

At least 60 civilians have lost their lives since the coup and more than 1,800 have been arrested, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners.

The state media deny any involvement of the police or the army in the deaths of civilians, and assures that the security forces must “contain the disturbances as dictated by the law”.

AFP

More information