YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – At least 33 protesters were killed by Myanmar security forces on Wednesday, the highest number since the February 1 military coup, according to a compilation of local reports, while authorities extended their lethal repression.
The data, mainly from local media and Facebook posts, was compiled by a data professional in Yangon, the country’s largest city. In many cases, it includes the names of the victims, ages, cities and where and how they were killed. The deaths included a 14-year-old boy.
The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm most of the reported deaths, but a sample of online postings did match what is included in the compilation. The person who compiled the information requested anonymity for fear of reprisals from the military government. He said 18 people were killed on Wednesday in Yangon.
The highest previous total was on Sunday, when the UN Human Rights Office reported 18 deaths across the country, although other counts indicate this.
Videos from various locations showed security forces on Wednesday firing slingshots at protesters, chasing them and even brutally beating an ambulance crew.
Protesters have regularly flooded city streets across the country since the military seized power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers remained high, even as security forces repeatedly fired tear gas, bullets from rubber and real shots to disperse the crowd and arresting mass demonstrators.
The intensification of the impasse is unfortunately familiar in the country with a long history of peaceful resistance to the military regime – and brutal repressions. The coup reversed years of slow progress towards democracy in the Southeast Asian country, after five decades of military rule.
Security forces have also arrested hundreds of people in protests, including journalists. On Saturday, at least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of the Associated Press, were arrested. A video shows that he had moved out of the way while police attacked protesters on a street, but was apprehended by police officers, who handcuffed him and held him for a brief moment with a stranglehold before taking him away.
He was accused of violating a public security law who could see you in jail for up to three years.
The escalation of repression has led to an increase in diplomatic efforts to resolve Myanmar’s political crisis – but there appear to be few viable options.
The UN Security Council is due to hold a closed meeting on the situation on Friday, diplomats of the council said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to give the information before the official announcement. The UK requested the meeting, they said.
Still, any kind of coordinated action at the United Nations will be difficult, as two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, would almost certainly veto it. Some countries have imposed or are considering imposing their own sanctions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, held a teleconference meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
But there, too, action is unlikely. The 10-nation regional group has a tradition of not interfering in each other’s internal affairs. A statement by the president after the meeting only called for an end to the violence and negotiations on how to reach a peaceful settlement.
Ignoring this call, Myanmar security forces continued to attack peaceful protesters on Wednesday.
Details of the repressions and victims are difficult to confirm independently, especially those that occur outside large cities. But reports of most assaults have been consistent across social media and local media, and generally have supporting videos and photos. It is also likely that many attacks in remote areas will not be reported.
In Yangon, a widely publicized video taken from a security camera showed police officers in the city brutally beating members of an ambulance crew – apparently after they were arrested. The police can be seen kicking the three crew members and beating them with rifle butts.
Security forces are believed to have isolated medical workers from prison and ill-treatment because members of the medical profession launched the country’s civil disobedience movement to resist the junta.
The data compiler said the second highest number of deaths was in the central city of Monywa, which brought together large crowds, with eight reported dead.
Two deaths were reported in Salin, a town in the Magwe region, on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River, and in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city.
Mawlamyine, in the southeast, and Myingyan and Kalay, both in central Myanmar, all reported a death.
In Mandalay, photos posted on social media showed a college student peacefully participating in a protest, and then showed her apparently lifeless with a head injury. According to reports on social media, a man was also killed.
The city’s riot police, supported by soldiers, stopped a demonstration and chased about 1,000 teachers and students in a tear gas street while shots were heard.
The Associated Press video showed a squad of police firing slingshots at the demonstrators’ apparent direction as they dispersed.
___
This story has been updated to correct that there was an account of one death in Myingyan, not two.