Two more pro-democracy protesters were killed in Myanmar today, March 8, and most stores, factories and banks, as well as public services and hospitals, remained closed this morning after nine major unions called for a strike to cripple the economy and put pressure on the military government.
The general strike movement was accompanied by demonstrations against the military coup. Burmese women demonstrators stood in the front of the line today on International Women’s Day, March 8. This is despite warnings from the ruling military that they will fire civil servants who stop working. But civil servants, farmers and private sector workers were joined by young people and activists at rallies across the country.
In central Myitkyina, multiple explosions were heard and bloodied protesters were seen being transported away from firing zones by protesters, according to videos broadcast on social networks. “Two men were killed” and several people were wounded, including a woman who was shot in the arm and seriously injured, according to a rescue worker who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Myanmar’s nine largest unions called for a “total and prolonged economic stagnation” starting Monday, according to AFP. Allowing economic activity to continue would only help the army, they wrote in a joint statement. And the army “is repressing the Burmese people.”” Now is the Time to act.”
And so, after the Feb. 1 coup’s thriving textile mills, as well as industries such as shopping malls, banks and post offices, continued to close. Previous calls for strikes launched in the first hours after the coup have had a major impact on many industries in Burma, with banks unable to open, hospitals closed and offices of various ministries empty.
Ethnic Minorities
Ethnic minorities have also joined the protests. Near the southern town of Dawei, hundreds of Karen demonstrated waving blue, white and red flags and calling for an “end to dictatorship.” The march was escorted by armed Karen National Union (KNU) faction rebels who came to protect the protesters from possible violence by security forces.
Numerous Burmese women took part in the march to celebrate International Women’s Day. On Sunday, thousands of Burmese monks, students and civil servants demonstrated, especially in Mandalay (central), where a massive sit-in was organized.
According to testimonies collected by AFP, police and military used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to disperse the rally. Dozens of protesters were arrested and several were injured, according to the Association for Aid to Political Prisoners (AAPP).
According to Burmese NGOs, demonstrations “in residential areas, religious buildings, hospitals and campuses” were violently suppressed.
Night Raids
Burmese security forces deployed in several areas of Yangon on Sunday evening and conducted operations at several public hospitals in the city. The NGO Physicians for Human Rights condemned the military’s occupation of hospitals, saying they were “shocked by the recent wave of violence.
Saturday’s night raids targeted leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Several people were arrested. A local representative of the movement, Khin Maung Latt, was killed.
The junta has warned that any lawmaker who does not recognize the legitimacy of the coup and sets up a committee to represent the civilian government is guilty of “treason,” a crime punishable by death or 22 years in prison.
The United Nations said last week that more than 50 protesters have been killed since the coup that toppled 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burma’s state media denied that police and military were responsible for the civilian deaths, saying they “must control the riots according to the law.” But widely reported footage shows security forces firing live ammunition at rallies and carrying away the bodies of killed protesters.
Hundreds of local officials, journalists, activists and artists have been arrested since the coup. Burma’s military government did not respond to repeated queries from AFP.
Some Burmese are fleeing in the face of the worsening situation. Some 50 people, including eight police officers who refused to take part in the crackdown, have fled to neighboring India, and dozens more have gathered at the Myanmar-India border.
Myanmar’s generals have turned a deaf ear to united protests from the international community, which is divided on how to respond to the situation in the country.
The U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a joint statement Friday, and talks will continue this week.
The junta has accused fraud in last November’s parliamentary elections, which were won overwhelmingly by the NLD, and the military has promised to hold new elections without revealing any timetable.
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