fredag 5. mars 2021

'The police just shot': the terror inflicted on Myanmar's protesters

Early on Wednesday morning, the protests building in North Okkalapa, in Yangon, Myanmar, seemed peaceful. “I saw around three or four police officers along the road, but it was calm,” said Khin, who like all demonstrators the Guardian spoke to asked not to give her real name. Onlookers cheered as the crowds passed.

About 1,000 people, she estimated, had joined the march. Many had turned out in the hope that they would put pressure on police resources, and in forcing them to spread more thinly would protect demonstrators elsewhere in the city. After weeks of defiant mass protests opposing the military coup, the security forces were using increasing violence, including live ammunition, to break up rallies.