In general news, the situation in Burma has not subsided after last week’s massive military crackdown, and on March 7, large numbers of people took to the streets in at least six cities across the country to protest.
On March 6, the military-controlled Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) reported that the military would exhume the body of Deng Jiaxi, a 19-year-old ethnic Chinese girl who was shot dead in a recent street protest, and conduct an autopsy, leading to public outrage and another mass protest on March 7, according to the French broadcaster.
Burmese police have been cracking down in these protest cities. There were videos of police firing tear gas at protesters in Yangon and Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State, and residents took to social media to say that police used live ammunition.
In other news, Khin Maung Latt, campaign manager for the elected government, died after being arrested in Yangon on Saturday night, but the cause of death was not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on March 7 that he is willing to engage with all sides to help de-escalate the situation on the basis of respecting Myanmar’s sovereignty and the will of its people. But Ari Ben-Menashe, an Israeli-Canadian political lobbyist hired by the Burmese junta, told Reuters that the military does not want to be a puppet of China and wants to mend relations with the United States. He also said the military believes Aung San Suu Kyi’s ties with Beijing are too close.
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