Nun kneels before police to stop violence in Myanmar, but in vain

(Reuters) – A nun has fallen to her knees in front of police in a town in northern Myanmar, pleading with them to stop shooting protesters agitating against last month’s coup.

In the end, however, she did not succeed.

In the video, Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng was kneeling in a white robe and black habit on a street in the city of Myitkyina on Monday, talking to two police officers who were also kneeling.

“I begged them not to hurt the protesters, but to treat them kindly like family members,” she told Reuters in a telephone interview.

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“I told them they could kill me. I will not stand up until they give their promise that they will not brutally strike protesters.”

Tawng, who runs a clinic in the city, said she got the reassurance from senior officers that they were just clearing the road.

Tawng and one of the policemen are seen touching their foreheads to the ground, but shooting started shortly afterwards.

“We heard loud shots and saw a young child’s head explode, and there was a river of blood on the street,” Tawng said.

At least two protesters were killed and several others injured, she and other witnesses said.

A military spokesman and police in Myitkyina did not respond to requests for comment.

Tawng tried to bring some of the victims to the clinic before being blinded by tear gas.

“Our clinic floor has become a sea of ​​blood,” she said. “We have to appreciate life. It made me feel so sad.”

The nun also came between protesters and police at the end of last month and pleaded for peace, local media reported.

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More than 60 people were killed and more than 1,800 arrested in the February 1 protest against the coup.

Reporting by Reuters staff; Written by Raju Gopalakrishnan, edited by Ed Osmond

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