Military police fire tear gas at protesting people during a protest in Yangon, Myanmar, March 4, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday (March 9), Tha Peng, a 27-year-old Burmese police officer, said he resigned after refusing orders from his superiors to fire.
“From Feb. 6 to 26, people were free to demonstrate and protest, but from the 28th onward, it was not allowed. We had to disperse them and if they didn’t obey, our commanders ordered to shoot them.” Thapen added, “The duty of the police is to protect the people. In fact it is illegal for the Burmese police and military to shoot at the people.”
According to explicit Burmese police rules, to stop protesters, police can only shoot with rubber bullets, or shoot below the knee. But Thapeng said he received orders from his superiors to shoot and “shoot them until they die.”
“I couldn’t obey my superiors’ orders to shoot my own people, so I fled my country.” Tappen said. He left Khampat, the town where he lived, on March 1 and spent three days fleeing to the Indian state of Mizoram.
“I miss my Family, I’m married, I have two children and I miss them every night and I don’t sleep well. If we have a real democracy and the military coup is over, I would like to return to my country.” He said.
Tappen also showed his ID card and a photo of himself in a police uniform. He said he became a police officer nine years ago.
An internal document cited by the newspaper showed that Tappen’s account of the incident was the same as the statements given to the Indian side by four other Burmese police officers who fled India. The documents show that they crossed the border because they were instructed to shoot at protesters as the peaceful demonstration movement continued in different places. But they did not have the guts to shoot at the peaceful demonstrators, they said.
Ngun Hlei, a Mandalay City police officer, said he received orders from his superiors to fire on the demonstrators, though he refused to comply. on March 6, Ngun Hlei traveled to Mizoram, India, with the assistance of pro-democracy activists.
Another policewoman, Dal, 24, is a police officer in charge of administration in the Falam region of northwestern Burma. After a surge in protests, she was instructed by her superiors to arrest female protesters, but refused to do so. Fearing she would be arrested, Dar decided to flee to India.
Tappen and Gunlay said they believe the police were under orders from the military to give the order to shoot. The four other Burmese police officers mentioned above who gave statements to the Indian side agreed, saying that the military pressured the police to confront the demonstrators.
An Indian official said about 100 Burmese, mostly policemen and their families, have fled to India since the coup by the Burmese military.
According to foreign media, Zaw Myat Linn, a member of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), to which Aung San Suu Kyi belongs, was arrested at around 1 a.m. Tuesday after continuing to participate in the protests. Before his arrest, he made a live Facebook post calling on people to keep protesting against the junta, “even if it means giving their lives. Hours later, his family was notified of his death.
His wife revealed that a serious injury to Soe Mi Rim’s abdomen was found and that he was suspected of having been tortured to death.
Some civil society organizations say more than 60 protesters have been killed and about 1,900 people arrested since the military staged the coup.
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