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MYANMAR: International condemnation of Myanmar’s military rulers is growing after security forces opened fire on anti-coup protesters in Mandalay, killing at least two people and hurting several others.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “I condemn the use of deadly violence in Myanmar. The use of lethal force, intimidation and harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” he tweeted.
Guterres further said, “Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly,” he added. “I call on all parties to respect the election results and return to civilian rule,” he added.
I condemn the use of deadly violence in Myanmar.
The use of lethal force, intimidation & harassment against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable.
Everyone has a right to peaceful assembly. I call on all parties to respect election results and return to civilian rule.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 21, 2021
Thomas Andrews, the UN special Rapporteur for Myanmar, said he had received reports that the Tatmadaw’s 33rd Light Infantry Division was involved in the shootings.
That unit was responsible for the campaign of mass killings, rape, and arson that forced 730,000 members of the Rohingya ethnic minority into Bangladesh in 2017. Andrews called the shootings “a dangerous escalation by the junta in what appears to be a war against the people of Myanmar”.
The 33rd Light Infantry Division was reportedly involved in the lethal attacks in Mandalay today – the same division responsible for mass atrocity crimes against the Rohingya in 2017. A dangerous escalation by the junta in what appears to be a war against the people of Myanmar.
— UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@RapporteurUn) February 20, 2021
The United States, United Kingdom, France and Singapore have all expressed concern over the shootings, with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab threatening “further action” and the Singaporean foreign ministry warning of “serious adverse consequences for Myanmar and the region” if the situation continued to escalate.
The shooting of peaceful protesters in Myanmar is beyond the pale. We will consider further action, with our international partners, against those crushing democracy & choking dissent.
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) February 20, 2021
Members of ethnic minorities, poets, rappers and transport workers marched on Saturday in various places, but tension escalated quickly in Mandalay where police and soldiers fired live rounds at striking workers at Mandalay’s Yadanabon dock. As a result, two protesters killed on the spot.
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s army declared a one-year state of emergency and selected a general as acting president of the country, after apprehending a civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other government officials.
The military move came after Myanmar’s influential military prompted concern about a coup last week after threatening to “take action” over an alleged scam in a November election won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).
The military said that the voter lists which were used during the general polls held on the 8th of November were found to have huge discrepancy and the Election Commission failed to resolve the issue.
Though the autonomy of the nation must derive from the people, there was awful deception in the voter list during the polls which run contrary to ensuring a stable democracy, the military alleged.
It further said a refusal to settle the issue of voter list scam and a failure to take action and follow a request to delay lower-house and upper-house parliament sessions is not in harmony with Article 417 of the 2018 constitution that refers to ‘acts or efforts to take over the sovereignty of the Union by unfair forcible means’ and could lead to a collapse of national solidarity.
