YANGON – At least five anti-coup protesters were killed today as demonstrators across Myanmar continued to defy military rule, while a group of ousted MPs urged them to “defend themselves” during the nation’s “darkest moment”.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power in a February 1 putsch, triggering a mass uprising that has seen hundreds of thousands protest daily for a return to democracy.
The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by citing widespread electoral irregularities in November’s elections, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won by a landslide.5
In response, a group of elected MPs, many of whom are in hiding, have formed a shadow “parliament” called the Committee for Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – the Burmese word for the country’s governing bloc – to denounce the military regime.
On Sunday, they issued a statement saying protesters had the “full right to defend themselves” under the country’s penal code against security forces who are “harming and causing violence”.
Soldiers and police have in recent weeks been staging near-daily crackdowns against demonstrators calling for a return to democracy, deploying tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to quell anti-coup protests.
More than 80 have been killed in the unrest, according to a local monitoring group, but the number is expected to increase dramatically after Sunday's violence in commercial hub Yangon.
Despite the daily bloodshed, those in the anti-coup movement remain defiant, and have hardened in recent weeks.
The violence came a day after the acting vice president of the CRPH called for the people to continue protesting against the military’s “unjust dictatorship”.
“This is the darkest moment of the nation and the light before the dawn is close,” said Mahn Win Khaing Than in a recorded video posted on the CRPH’s Facebook page last night.
A high-ranking NLD politician who served as speaker of the house during Suu Kyi’s previous administration, he was placed under house arrest during the February 1 power grab, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
His address yesterday was his first appearance as CRPH’s acting vice president, and he echoed the anti-coup movement’s calls for a “federal democracy” – which would allow ethnic minority groups to have a role in Myanmar’s governance.
“This uprising is also the chance for all of us to struggle together hand-in-hand to establish a federal democracy union,” he said.
The committee has issued several statements since its formation, but the protest movement on the ground appears largely leaderless – with daily rallies organised by local activists.
The junta – self-anointed as the State Administration Council – has said the CRPH’s formation is akin to “high treason”, which carries a maximum sentence of 22 years in jail. – AFP, March 15, 2021
