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YANGON: Myanmar’s military raided the Yangon headquarters of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party late on Tuesday, as the United States joined the UN in “strongly” condemning violence against protesters demanding a return to democracy.
The latest assault on Myanmar’s civilian leadership came as anger at last week’s coup and the detention of Suu Kyi by the generals has driven hundreds of thousands of people into the streets, defying a junta ban on rallies.
“The military dictator raided and destroyed NLD headquarters at around 9:30 pm,” the National League for Democracy announced on Facebook, without giving any further details.
The raid came after demonstrations erupted for a fourth straight day with police using water cannon in several cities, firing rubber bullets at protesters in the capital Naypyidaw and deploying tear gas in Mandalay.
The rallies came despite a warning from the junta that it would take action against demonstrations that threatened stability, and a new ban on gatherings of more than five people.
The United States, which has led global censure of the coup, renewed its call for freedom of expression in Myanmar — and for the generals to step down. “We strongly condemn violence against demonstrators,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, adding that people in Myanmar “have rights to peaceful assembly.”
“We repeat our calls for the military to relinquish power, restore democratically elected government, release those detained and lift all telecommunication restrictions and to refrain from violence,” he said. Price has previously said US requests to speak to Suu Kyi had been denied.
The United Nations also voiced its “strong concern” over the violence. “The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable,” said Ola Almgren, the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc could impose fresh sanctions on Myanmar’s military, but warned any punishment should not hit the population. In Naypyidaw, the remote capital by the previous military regime, police fired projectiles at protesters after earlier blasting them with water cannon. In Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters.
Earlier this week, the protests by hundreds of thousands appeared to have rattled the military, with junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing making a televised speech on Monday to justify seizing power, citing election fraud claims.
He promised things would be different from the army’s previous reign which ended in 2011. The military also announced a curfew and a ban on protest gatherings.
Fresh demonstrations erupted in Yangon, including near the NLD’s headquarters, with protesters carrying placards calling for Suu Kyi’s freedom and declaring “No dictatorship”.
The NLD won national elections in November by a landslide, but the military never accepted the results. It has announced a one-year state of emergency and promised to hold fresh elections after that.
New Zealand became the first foreign government to take concrete public action, announcing the suspension of high-level military and political contacts with Myanmar.
