Violence Continues In Myanmar As Police Enforce Curfew And Occupy Hospitals : NPR - 0 views
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More than a month after the military orchestrated a coup against the country's democratically elected leader, Myanmar police are continuing to use violence against peaceful protesters.
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The death toll is continuing to rise — and it now includes a local official from the deposed leader's political party.
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the body of U Khin Maung Latt, who campaigned for candidates from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party in recent elections, was released to his family on Sunday. Police reportedly took him by force from his home late Saturday. Witnesses reported seeing him being kicked and beaten. Police told the family he died after fainting. The pro-democracy activist was buried on Sunday.
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The military is using increasingly aggressive tactics to try to maintain order as it arrests protesters throughout the country
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The violence isn't limited to the sites of demonstrations. For days, heavy weapon fire has been heard in the evenings as police patrol the streets to enforce an 8 p.m. curfew.
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Multiple universities and hospitals are being occupied by police, and security forces often target medical personnel and ambulances, The Associated Press reports. Occupying hospitals lets police easily arrest wounded people, who they would presume to be protesters, the AP said.
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Elsewhere in the city, army troops asked Mandalay Technological University staff members if they could use the institution as a base; after staffers rejected the request, soldiers cleared the area by force, Myanmar Now reported.
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Social media posts from the country are full of reports of demonstrators facing tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and even live rounds as they gather in Myanmar's largest cities.
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"You can see them walking down the streets in Yangon, firing up through the windows as people look in horror down on the streets,"
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In February, Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N., who was appointed before the coup, pleaded for international assistance — and was removed from his position the next day
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The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reports that at least 54 people have been killed since the Feb. 1 coup, and nearly 1,800 have been arrested. Around 300 of them have been released, but the rest remain in detention, AAPP says.
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Meanwhile, state-run media is characterizing the demonstrations as "riots."
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The country's deposed civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had two trial appearances, even as she has been unable to meet with her attorney.
