YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Footage of a brutal suppression of protests against a coup in Myanmar has sparked outrage and calls for a stronger international response on Thursday, a day after 38 people were killed. Videos have shown that security forces shoot a person at a lightning distance and chase protesters and beat them brutally.
Despite the shocking violence the previous day, protesters returned to the streets on Thursday to denounce the army’s takeover on February 1 – and were met again with tear gas.
The international response to the coup has so far been appropriate, but a flood of videos shared online pointing to security forces brutally targeting protesters and other civilians has led to calls for more action. The United States calls the images “scary”, the UN chief of human rights said it was time to “end the military stranglehold on democracy in Myanmar”, and the country’s independent human rights expert called on the Security Council to videos meet before Friday to discuss the crisis.
The coup turned years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which fell under strict military rule for five decades, leading to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals have loosened their grip over the past few years, the international community has lifted most sanctions and thrown in investments.
Christine Schraner Burgener, UN special envoy to Myanmar, described Wednesday as “the bloodiest day” since the takeover, when the military ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It is confirmed that more than 50 civilians, mostly peaceful protesters, have since been killed by police and soldiers, including the 38 who were killed Wednesday, she said.
“I saw a lot of disturbing videos today,” Schraner Burgener said. ‘One was the police who beat up a volunteer medical crew. They were not armed. Another video clip shows a protester being taken away by police and they shot him from very close range, maybe just one meter. He did not resist his arrest, and appears to have died on the street. ”
She appears to be referring to a video shared on social media, starting with a group of security forces following a citizen, who had apparently just pulled out of a building. A shot rang out, and the person fell. After the person briefly raises their head, two of the troops drag the person to their arms.
In other footage, about two dozen security forces, some drawn with their firearms, chase two people wearing the construction helmets worn by many protesters in a street. When they catch up with the people, they hit them repeatedly with sticks and kick them. One of the officers filmed the scene on his cellphone.
In another video, several police officers repeatedly kick and hit a person with sticks while the person is curved on the ground, hands over their head. Officers move in and out of the frame, get in a few kicks and then walk away comfortably.
While some countries imposed sanctions or threatened to impose them after the coup, others were more reluctant in their response. The large amount of violent images shared on Wednesday, coupled with the high death toll, has raised hopes that the dynamics could change.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday called on everyone with ‘information and influence’ to hold military leaders accountable.
“This is the moment to turn the tables to justice and end the army’s stranglehold on democracy in Myanmar,” she said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price said the United States was “appalled” by the “horrific violence”, and Tom Andrews, the UN’s independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said that the ” systematic brutality of the military junta is again displayed horribly. ”
“I urge members of the UN Security Council to see the photos / videos of the shocking violence unleashed by peaceful protesters before they convened,” he said on Twitter.
The Security Council requested that in addition to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s ongoing inspections in Iran, that it monitor Iran’s compliance with “the steps required by the IAEA Board”.
But Justine Chambers, co-director of the Myanmar Research Center at the Australian National University, said that while the graphic images would undoubtedly lead to strong condemnation, action against Myanmar would be more difficult.
“Unfortunately, I do not think the brutality captured on camera is going to change much,” she said. “I think domestic audiences around the world do not have much desire for stronger action, that is, intervention, given the current state of the pandemic and associated economic issues.”
Any kind of coordinated action at the UN would be difficult, as two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, would almost certainly veto it.
Although the council did act, UN envoy Schraner Burgener warned that it would not make much of a difference. She said she had warned the Myanmar army that the nations of the world and the Security Council could ‘take big, strong action’.
“And the answer was, ‘We are used to sanctions and we have survived the sanctions in the past,'” she said. When she also warned that Myanmar would be isolated, Schraner Burgener said, ‘The answer was,’ We need to learn to walk with only a few friends. ”
Wednesday was the highest death toll in Yangon, the country’s largest city, where an estimated 18 people died. Video in a hospital in the city showed grieving family members collecting the blood-soaked bodies of family members. Some family members sobbed uncontrollably, while others watched in shock the scene around them.
Protesters gathered again in Yangon on Thursday. Police again used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds, while protesters again barriers have made on highways.
Demonstrations also continued in Mandalay, where three people were killed on Wednesday. A formation of five fighter jets flew over the city on Thursday morning in a show of force.
Protesters in the city flash the three-finger salute that is a symbol of defiance as they ride their motorcycles to follow a funeral procession for Kyal Sin, also known by her Chinese name Deng Jia Xi, a university student who was shot dead while she attended. a demonstration the day before.
According to the Independent Relief Society for Political Prisoners, security forces have also arrested more than a thousand people, including journalists. On Saturday, at least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of The Associated Press, was detained. He and several other members of the media are charged with violating a public safety law that could detain them for up to three years.