Photo courtesy: @LoveSWAN7|Twitter
Yangon/New York/Geneva: Security forces fired guns on Monday afternoon as they combed through alleys in Yangon’s Sanchaung township in search of protesters, who had fled after being attacked with teargas and stun grenades, according to Myanmar Now, an independent Myanmar news agency.
A tweet by Kyaw Naing Soe (@NsKyaw on Monday night posted a video and claimed in a tweet that the military was using violent force and had opened fire at residential units in arresting one of the journalists.
#SaveMyammar #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar @SecBlinken @BorisJohnson 01/03/21 at night, Yangon, Myanmar, Military using violent force/opened fire at residential units in arresting one of journalists although he begging not to terrorise/ Unarmed Civilians are terrorised/killed pic.twitter.com/u7F9xzNVw8
— Kyaw Naing Soe (@NsKyaw) March 1, 2021
Reports suggest that the riot police had used tear gas and fire extinguisher gas against protesters in Yangon today.
In Geneva, the World Health Organisation Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last night that he was concerned about the reported arrest of health workers in Myanmar that could affect the response to COVID-19 and the delivery of other essential health services.
In New York, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has “strongly” condemned the violent crackdown in Myanmar. His office said he has been “deeply disturbed” by the increase in deaths and serious injuries, and has said the use of lethal force against peaceful protestors and arbitrary arrests are unacceptable.
The Secretary-General has also urged the international community to “come together and send a clear signal to the military that it must respect the will of the people of Myanmar as expressed through the election and stop the repression”.
Meanwhile in Geneva, citing “credible information”, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in Geneva has stated that at least 18 people had been killed and more than 30 demonstrators had been wounded as police and military forces used live rounds together with less-than-lethal force against crowds nationwide protesting the month-long take over on Sunday. It has strongly condemned the escalating violence against protests in Myanmar and called on the military to immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protestors.
Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku. Tear gas was also reportedly used in various locations as well as flash-bang and stun grenades, the OHCHR has claimed.
Throughout the day on Sunday, the OHCHR said that in several locations throughout the country, police and military forces had confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force.
“The people of Myanmar have the right to assemble peacefully and demand the restoration of democracy. 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,”UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Myanmar has stated.
The OHCHR claimed that since the beginning of the coup d’état in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, the police and security forces were targeting an ever-increasing number of opposition voices and demonstrators by arresting political officials, activists, civil society members, journalists and medical professionals.
On Sunday alone, police had detained at least 85 medical professionals and students, as well as seven journalists, who were present at the demonstrations. Over 1,000 individuals had been arbitrarily arrested and detained in the last month – some of whom remain unaccounted for – mostly without any form of due process, simply for exercising their human rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly.
“We reiterate our call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained, including members of the democratically elected government. The international community must stand in solidarity with the protestors and all those seeking a return to democracy in Myanmar,” Shamdasani said.
In the meantime, in Myanmar, state television MRTV announced last Saturday that the UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun’s was removed on grounds that he had “abused the power and responsibilities of a permanent ambassador” and that he “betrays the country”. Tun had condemned the coup at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
However, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told journalists in New York today the UN had not received any communication concerning changes in the representation of Myanmar at the UN in New York. Neither the Secretary General nor have his colleagues in Protocol has thus far received any information from the Permanent Mission of Myanmar on any changes in the Government, he said.
Also read: In those rare moments, Myanmar’s ambassador denounces events unfolding in his country at the UNGA
To a specific question on whether the installation of a military Government by force in a country automacally recognized or the issue of credentials have to go to the General Assembly Credentials Committee if there is a challenge, Dujarric said there were certain processes in place at the United Nations. “If… first of all, we need to be notified officially of a change in Government, in a change in the permanent representation. If there are questions about the credentials of someone sitting in a seat of a particular Member State, that is up to the Member States themselves to challenge and to discuss through the General Assembly’s Credentials Committee,” he clarified.
Dujarric further informed that the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, was continuing her contacts with various stakeholders in Myanmar.
– global bihari bureau
