YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – According to a compilation of local reports, at least 33 protesters were killed by Myanmar security forces on Wednesday. This is the highest number since a military coup on 1 February.
The data, mostly from local media and Facebook posts, was compiled by a data professional in Yangon, the country’s largest city. In many cases, it contains the names of the victims, ages, hometowns and where and how they were killed. The death included a 14-year-old boy.
The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm most of the reported deaths, but a sample of online postings is consistent with what was included in the compilation. The person who compiled the information asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the military government. He said 18 people were killed in Yangon on Wednesday.
The previous highest total was on Sunday, when the UN Human Rights Office declared 18 deaths nationwide, although other scores showed it to be higher.
On videos from various places, the security forces were fired on with protesters on Wednesday with slingshots, chased and even brutally beat an ambulance staff.
Protesters have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military seized power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers remained high, even as security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowd and arrest protesters en masse.
The increasing absence is unfortunately known in the country with a long history of peaceful resistance to military rule – and cruel oppression. The coup turned years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country into five decades of military rule.
Security forces also arrested hundreds of people during protests, including journalists. At least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press, were detained on Saturday. In a video it can be seen that he was driving out of the way when the police unloaded protesters in a street but were subsequently seized by police officers.
He is charged with violating a public safety law it could result in him being jailed for up to three years.
The increase in repression has led to increasing diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis – but there appear to be few viable options.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold a closed-door meeting on Friday, council diplomats said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give the information before the official announcement. According to them, the United Kingdom requested the meeting.
Nevertheless, any kind of coordinated action at the United Nations will be difficult, as two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, will almost certainly veto it. Some countries have imposed or are considering their own sanctions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, held a teleconference meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
But even there, action is unlikely. The regional group of ten countries has a tradition of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. A statement from the chairman after the meeting simply called for an end to the violence and to talk about achieving a peaceful settlement.
Myanmar’s security forces on Wednesday continued to attack peaceful protesters because they did not ignore the call.
It is difficult to independently confirm the details of the downfall and victims, especially outside the larger cities. But the reports of most assaults have been consistent in social media and in local newspapers, and usually have videos and photos supporting them. It is also likely that many attacks in remote areas are not reported.
In Yangon, a widely circulated video from a security camera showed police brutally beating members of an ambulance crew in the city – apparently after they were arrested. Police can be seen kicking the three crew members and pounding them with rifle butts.
Security forces are believed to single out medical workers for arrest and ill-treatment because members of the medical profession launched the country’s civil disobedience movement to resist the junta.
The data compiler said the second highest death toll was in the central city of Monywa, which appears to be from large crowds, with eight deaths reported.
Two deaths have been reported in Salin, a town in the Magwe region on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River, and in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city.
Mawlamyine, in the southeast, and Myingyan and Kalay, both in central Myanmar, all reported one death.
In Mandalay, photos on social media showed a university student peacefully participating in a protest, and later apparently showing her lifeless with a head wound. According to social media, a man was also killed.
Riot police in the city, backed by soldiers, broke out a protest and chased about 1,000 teachers and students of thugs out of a street because gunshots could be heard.
The video from The Associated Press shows a group of police firing slingshots in the apparent direction of protesters as they diverge.
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This story has been updated to correct that there was a report of one death in Myingyan, not two.