On March 11, the Burmese military again cracked down on protesters, killing at least 10 protesters. UN investigators counted more than 70 people shot dead by soldiers and about 2,000 people arrested.
We protested peacefully,” a 31-year-old protester said in a telephone interview with Reuters, adding that he was “in disbelief” at the military’s bloody crackdown.
Behind the coup, the Chinese Communist Party‘s ghostly presence looms large. On the eve of the coup, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar and met with military leader Min Aung Hlaing to express support for him. It is believed that the military coup may have had the tacit approval and support of Beijing.
While the international community has been condemning and sanctioning the military government, the Chinese Communist Party has been defending the military government on the grounds of “non-interference in its internal affairs” and has tried to obstruct the UN from taking harsh actions against the military government.
According to the Burmese public, the Chinese Communist Party has provided equipment and personnel to support the junta’s cyber control. At the site of the military crackdown on the protests, people picked up tear gas shells marked with simplified Chinese characters, which made the Burmese people quite shocked.
Since the coup, Burmese people have continued to protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Burma. Some people have displayed the five-star flag of the Chinese Communist Party, with the words “CHINA SHAME ON YOU” printed on it.
Recently, the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline has again become the focus of protests in Myanmar. Many Burmese people shouted “Blow up the Chinese Communist Party’s oil and gas pipeline!
According to Myanmar’s The Irrawaddy newspaper on March 8, a leak from Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry revealed that the Chinese Communist Party wants the Burmese military government to put pressure on the Burmese media to reduce public suspicion of the Chinese Communist Party.
In addition, the Chinese Communist Party has expressed high concern about the security of the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline in Burma. Currently, Burmese government and local security officials check the safety of the pipeline every two days.
The above news has provoked strong indignation among Burmese people, with some one million Burmese taking to Facebook and Twitter to say that Chinese Communist Party officials view Burmese casualties as Burma’s own internal affairs and Beijing’s interests above all else.
When the UN Security Council earlier discussed sanctions against Burma’s military government for staging a coup, the Chinese Communist Party opposed the UN sanctions on the grounds of Burma’s internal affairs. In response, a netizen tweeted, “CCP, if you still think what is happening in Burma is an internal affair, then blowing up the gas pipeline that runs through Burma is an internal affair for us too.
It is worth noting that not only the Burmese protesters but also the Burmese military appear to be wary of the Chinese Communist Party. Reuters reported on March 6 that the Burmese military was trying to turn the tables, and that a lobbyist hired by the military, former Mossad officer Ali B. Bennislav, had been a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Ben-Menasheh Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Mossad officer hired by the military as a lobbyist, said military leaders want to improve relations with the United States and are committed to distancing themselves from the Chinese Communist Party.
Burma wants to be closer to the West and the United States than to the Chinese Communist Party,” Menashe said. They don’t want to be a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party.”
However, the Burmese military is still engaged in a bloody crackdown on protesters and is bound to be subject to harsher sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department announced on March 10 that it had imposed sanctions on Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, freezing all of his and his children’s assets in the United States.
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