Grocer Mya Thwet Thwet Khine is the first confirmed death among thousands of people who have taken to the streets to protest the February 1 coup that toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The young woman was shot dead on February 9, two days before her 20th birthday, during a demonstration in the capital Nayptitaw, and died on Friday.
Grandparents of the victim
A thousand people in cars and bicycles gathered on Sunday morning at the hospital where his body was kept under very strict security conditions. Even the victim’s grandparents, who had made the trip from Yangon, five hours away, were refused entry. When his body was released, a long motorized procession began to proceed to the cemetery.
In Yangon, the largest city in Burma, a thousand demonstrators honored the woman under a raised causeway.
“I want to tell the dictator and his associates, through the media, that we are peaceful protesters,” protester Min Htet Naing said. “Stop the genocide! Stop using deadly weapons!”
Another large protest took place in Mandalay, where police shot dead two people near a shipyard on Saturday as security forces tried to force workers to load a boat. Workers, such as railway workers, truckers and many public officials, took part in a campaign of civil disobedience against the junta.
Worker resistance
Gunshots erupted after residents of the neighborhood rushed to the Yadanabon wharf to try to help the workers in their resistance. One of the victims, described as a teenager, was shot in the head and died immediately, while another was shot in the chest and died en route to a hospital.
Last week, Britain froze the assets of three Burmese generals and imposed travel bans on them, in addition to already existing targeted sanctions.
Singapore, which is part with Burma of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (10 members), issued a statement condemning the use of lethal force as “inexcusable”.
On Sunday, Facebook announced that it had removed the page operated by the Burmese Military Information Unit “for repeated violations of our community standards prohibiting incitement to violence and the coordination of evil.” He had already withdrawn other military-related accounts.
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