Pro-Democracy Protestors in Monnyar Town in Myanmar on March 4, 2021 Photo credit: @THEINMAW6|Twitter
Yangon/New York: Reports emanating from Myanmar suggest that dozens of unarmed and peaceful protestors were killed and many more were injured during the nationwide protests on March 3, against the military coup in the country. Some reports put the death figures at 38.
Also read: Myanmar’s military junta unleashes terror on pro-democracy protestors; many feared dead
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) claimed at least four children were severely wounded and five children were among “multiple young people and adults”, who were killed by the security forces on that day, Wednesday. it further claimed that more than 500 children were also arrested “arbitrarily”.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ola Almgren, described Wednesday as “a tragic day for Myanmar”, and stressed that the perpetrators must be held to account. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called on the country’s military to stop murdering and jailing protestors after another day of deadly violence across the country. “This is the moment to turn the tables towards justice and end the military’s stranglehold over democracy, “she emphasised.
At the United Nations, which had been facing a piquant situation over the issue of Permanent Representative of Myanmar in the Mission, Dujarric informed that in addition to the communications which the UN had received in the past few days concerning the Permanent Representative of Myanmar, [Kyaw Moe Tun], it also also received a communication on March 3 from the Permanent Mission of Myanmar “informing us that the Deputy Permanent Representative of Myanmar, Tin Maung Naing, had submitted his letter of resignation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, and recalling that Kyaw Moe Tun remains the Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations”.
Also read: In those rare moments, Myanmar’s ambassador denounces events unfolding in his country at the UNGA
Upon request by the Chair of the Credentials Committee, this communication had been circulated to the members of the Committee, to keep them informed of these changes, Dujarric said.
In the meantime, there has been much anguish in Myanmar even over China’s tacit support to the coup in the country. As of today, China had not officially condemned the atrocities in Myanmar. Both countries share a 2,160 km. long border. The Chinese state run Xinhua News Agency had called the February 1 coup d’etat in Myanmar a “major cabinet reshuffle.” Even at the United Nations Security Council, initially China along with Russia had initially blocked a Security Council statement that condemned the coup in Myanmar. The spokesperson of the Permanent Mission of China had even expressed the Mission’s shock when its move to block the UNSC statement in a closed door meeting was leaked to the media.
Also read:
- Myanmar events again divide the world into two camps; UN seeks immediate release of detained leaders
- After initial hiccups, UNSC members come on the same page to condemn the coup in Myanmar
A thread – ‘Things China doesn’t want you to know’ – is trending on twitter and a tweet posted under the thread showed a video of the security forces opening firing at residents who were able to save their lives.
The Myanmar military is shooting at unarmed families inside their own homes.
Thankfully, the family saw the shooter in time and no one was hurt. The second family in the video found a safer way to film the ongoing coup.
March 3, 2021
Yangon City, Myanmar pic.twitter.com/QRzR3UZbP1— Things China Doesn’t Want You To Know (@TruthAbtChina) March 5, 2021
To a specific query last night (IST) on whether the UN Secretary-General, who recently spoken to relevant governments about the atrocities in Myanmar, also spoken to China, Dujarric said: “Yes, he’s spoken… I mean, he’s had… let me put it this way. He’s spoken to… I think the issue of Myanmar has been raised in one way or another with all the permanent members of the Security Council, with prominent members of ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], including the presidency, Brunei. Some of these calls were done at the foreign minister level. Some of these calls were done with the permanent representatives.”
Meanwhile, a video of the arrest of Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw when he was photographing Myanmar security forces charging at anti‑coup protesters on February 1, has become viral that shows him being quickly surrounded, held in a chokehold and having handcuffs put on him. Authorities have charged Thein Zaw and five other members of the media with violating a public order law that could see them imprisoned for three years.
Myanmar’da AP muhabiri Thein Zaw Yangon’daki gösterileri takip ederken gözaltına alınma anı. pic.twitter.com/avSBT1tiA3
— metinyoksu (@metinyoksu) March 4, 2021
While the Associated Press has called for the “immediate release” of its journalist, the USA, which had already slapped sanctions on Myanmar, too joined the growing global chorus for the release of Zaw. At the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told journalists last night (IST): “I think the video is extremely disturbing to anyone who sees it. I mean, I’ve seen it. The Secretary‑General [António Guterres] and the UN family has repeatedly called on every country to allow journalists to do their job free of harassment, free of arrest, free of violence. I think we have seen in Myanmar in recent days harassment, arrests and physical attacks on journalists. Those must cease. And those journalists who have been detained, along with the other people who have been arrested, should also be freed.”
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener in the meantime has made a point that not all of the armed ethnic militias in the country and maybe very few of them have fallen in line behind the Tatmadaw (official name of the armed forces of Myanmar) in terms of their takeover of the Government. In view of her statement, the general apprehension of a full- fledged civil war erupting in the country, analysts feel, could not be ruled out. Dujarric conceded that the coup “is having many knock‑on effects”. He added: “We’ve talked about basic human rights, basic… the basic rights of people to live in a free and democratic society. We’ve talk about the impact on the humanitarian work that we do. We’ve talked about the impact of COVID, but it clearly will and is likely already having an impact on the efforts that had been ongoing to bring the various armed groups, armed ethnic groups, into a successful peace process. So, I think it would be right to say that we’re concerned that the events in Myanmar have derailed or are delaying or are having a negative impact on basically all the critical facets of life in Myanmar.”
– global bihari bureau
