Myanmar’s army, one week ago, alerted pro-democracy demonstrators that there would be more loss of life if their protests continued.
Sunday was Myanmar’s fiercest day since the military junta took power one month ago. As per the United Nations Human Rights Office, at least 18 people were killed and more than 30 injured after security forces shot live bullets at crowds of unarmed protesters in many cities across the country.
“The people of Myanmar have the right to free assembly and seek the return of democracy,” said U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani in a tweet.
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“These fundamental rights must be respected by the military and police, not met with violent and bloody repression. Use of lethal force against non-violent demonstrators is never justifiable under international human rights norms,” she added.
In the major cities as Yangon, Dawei and Mandalay the cops used tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters.
Afterward, horrifying videos, quickly circulated on social media, showed people fleeing to cover themselves while victims laid bleeding on the ground.
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Reuters noted that one of the victims of Sunday’s violence, the Internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing posted on Saturday a question on Facebook:
“how many dead bodies did the United Nations take action?” He was one of five people killed in Yangon the next day.
Besides that, state-run media said the police is taking steps to “secure the welfare of civilians, the rule of law and the stability of the nation.” Myanmar’s government-run Global New Light claimed that the police are trying to figure out who is leading the demonstrations and will take “strong action” against them.
Aung San Suu Kyi, a civilian official deposed by the Myanmar Army on 1 February, has not been seen since she was arrested, BBC says. She’s supposed to testify in court on Monday, but her lawyer admits she hasn’t been able to talk to her.