For bloodiest crackdown since Myanmar coup, UN Security Council to meet on Wednesday

Pro-democracy protesters took to the streets in Myanmar again on Monday despite the weekend’s bloody crackdown, which provoked international condemnation and left more than 100 dead, between them Several children.

Saturday was the bloodiest day since the February 1 military coup, when the Burmese army overthrew the civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since then, the military has cracked down daily on protests that demand a return to democracy and the release of former rulers.

The country’s situation will be debated at the UN Security Council on Wednesdaydiplomats said Monday.

The United Nations estimated the death toll at 107 on Saturday, including seven children. Personalities of the independent press killed in 114.

Army-controlled Myawaddy TV reported 45 dead on Saturday, and justified the crackdown by saying that the demonstrators had used weapons and bombs against the security forces.

At least 459 people have died since the coup according to the latest report from the Association for Aid to Political Prisoners (AAPP), an NGO that registers the victims of repression.

On Monday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Plate, in the Mandalay region (center), with banners reading “The people will never be defeated.”

Two journalists were arrested in Myitkyina, the capital of the state of Kachin. Since the coup, a total of 55 journalists have been arrested and 25 remain in prison, according to a local organization.

At the same time, funerals for victims of the weekend crackdown continued.

In the Sagaing area (center), hundreds of people paid tribute to Thinzar Hein, a 20-year-old nursing student who was gunned down while helping rescue teams treat the injured.

Beijing calls for moderation

China on Monday called on all parties to show restraint and assured that “the violence and bloody clashes do not serve the interests of any of the parties,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

The Kremlin for its part on Monday expressed its concern at the “growing” number of civilian casualties.

“It’s horrible”US President Joe Biden said on Sunday, “Absolutely intolerable.”

Monday, United States suspended trade pact with Burma by expressing his indignation at the massacre.

The European Union condemned on Sunday “An unacceptable escalation of violence” and “A path without meaning” elected by the council.

An unusual joint statement by the heads of the defense forces of 12 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Japan and Germany, on Saturday denounced the use of force by the Burmese army against “unarmed” civilians.

However, the council seems insensitive to international condemnations and sanctions.

Their leader, the general Min Aung Hlaing, warned on Saturday that the acts of “terrorism which can harm the peace and security of the State is unacceptable ”.

He also re-vindicated the coup for alleged fraud in the November elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and promised an election.

Airstrikes in Karen State

The British Foreign Office on Monday advised its citizens to leave Burma as soon as possible after “A significant increase in the level of violence“. The day before, the American embassy in Rangoon had asked its citizens to limit their movements.

In the south-eastern state of Karen, the National Karen Union (KNU), one of the main rebel movements of ethnic minorities in the country, was target of airstrikes over the weekend, the first in 20 years.

The attacks left four dead and nine injured, according to Hsa Moo, a Karen human rights activist. Some 3,000 people fled the region on Sunday and entered Thailand due to the new attacks.

The Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-Cha, told reporters in Bangkok on Monday that the military was preparing for more arrivals.

“Thailand will treat them as people fleeing the fighting, which means they will be allowed to stay temporarily until Thailand decides to deport them again.”he said to AFP Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch.

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