Activists in Myanmar have burned copies of a military-framed constitution in protest against Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s power grab, as neighbouring Thailand expressed “grave” concern over the security forces’ escalating crackdown on anti-coup protesters.
People again took to the streets of cities across Myanmar on Thursday, defying a security force clampdown that has killed at least 535 people since February 1 when the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.
The demonstrations came as fighting intensified between Myanmar’s military and ethnic rebel groups in the country’s border areas – a development that a United Nations special envoy said increased the “possibility of civil war at an unprecedented scale”.
The DVB news outlet reported that 20 soldiers were killed and four military trucks destroyed in clashes with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of Myanmar’s most powerful rebel groups. The fighting in the far north comes days after Myanmar military aircraft began bombing positions of another group, the Karen National Union (KNU) in the country’s east.
The clashes in the east have sent thousands of people fleeing to the Thai border.
Tanee Sangrat, spokesman for Thailand’s foreign ministry, told reporters on Thursday that Bangkok was “gravely troubled” by the increasing casualties. In some of the strongest comments from Thai authorities yet, Sangrat also called for a de-escalation of the situation, an end to violence and the further release of detainees.
Thailand was working with Southeast Asian countries for a peaceful solution, he added.
Myanmar has been rocked by near-daily protests since the army deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, citing unsubstantiated claims of fraud in an election held last November. Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) are being held in detention.
The military has accused her of several minor crimes, including illegally importing six handheld radios and breaching coronavirus protocols, but a domestic media outlet reported on Wednesday that she could be charged with treason, which can be punishable by death.
One of her lawyers, Min Min Soe, said no new charges were announced at a hearing in her case on Thursday. The lawyer held on Wednesday his first video conference with Aung San Suu Kyi since her arrest, and said the deposed leader “looks healthy, her complexion is good”.
Her lawyers say the charges she faces are trumped up.
‘Constitution bonfire’
Meanwhile, a group of deposed members of parliament, mostly from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, have vowed to set up a federal democracy in a bid to address a longstanding demand from minority groups for autonomy. The Committee for Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) also announced on Wednesday the scrapping of a 2008 constitution drawn up by the military that enshrines its control over politics.
The military has long rejected the idea of a federal system, seeing itself as the central power vital to holding the fractious country together.
Social media posts showed copies of the constitution, or in some cases imitations, being burned at rallies and in homes during what one activist called a “constitution bonfire ceremony”.
“The new day begins here!” Dr Sasa, international envoy of the CRPH, said on Twitter, referring to what for now is a largely symbolic move.
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw @CrphMyanmar, who has full democratic mandate from people of Myanmar through 2020 general election, has abolished 2008 constitution. In support of the action, people are burning down 2008 constitution books all over country. pic.twitter.com/WXFKEaEdkk
— Civil Disobedience Movement (@cvdom2021) April 1, 2021
Anti-coup protesters burn a paper copy of the 2008 Constitution in Yangon's Hlaing township today, following an announcement by the CRPH– a body representing some of Myanmar's elected lawmakers– that the Constitution has been abolished. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/k4JlsUoQeD
— Myanmar Now (@Myanmar_Now_Eng) April 1, 2021
Fires also broke out overnight and early on Thursday at two shopping centres in Yangon owned by military-controlled conglomerates, with photographs of the flames and smoke posted on social media.
In Yangon, Ruby Mart is engulfed in flames in this still taken from social media video obtained by Reuters [Social media video/ Reuters]The council must consider “potentially significant action” to reverse the course of events as “a bloodbath is imminent”, she said.
“This could happen under our watch,” she said in a virtual presentation obtained by The Associated Press, “and failure to prevent further escalation of atrocities will cost the world so much more in the longer term than investing now in prevention, especially by Myanmar’s neighbours and the wider region.”
‘Failed state’
The opposition of ethnic armed groups to “the military’s cruelty … (is) increasing the possibility of civil war at an unprecedented scale”, Schraner Burgener warned.
“Already-vulnerable groups requiring humanitarian assistance including ethnic minorities and the Rohingya people will suffer most,” she said, “but inevitably, the whole country is on the verge of spiralling into a failed state.”
The council’s statements have so far expressed concern and condemned violence against protesters, but dropped language calling the takeover a coup and threatening possible further action due to opposition by China, Russia, India and Vietnam.
The United States on Wednesday urged China, which has significant economic and strategic interests in Myanmar, to use its influence to hold accountable those responsible for the coup.
While Western countries have strongly condemned the coup, China has been more cautious and the government’s top diplomat Wang Yi called for stability during a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart on Wednesday.
“China welcomes and supports ASEAN’s adherence to the principle of non-interference … and the ‘ASEAN approach’ in playing a positive role in promoting the stability of the situation in Myanmar,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
In a sign of stepped-up shuttle diplomacy, the foreign ministers of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are also due to meet Wang Yi in China this week.
ASEAN members, of whom Myanmar is one, have pledged not to interfere in each other’s affairs but, led by Indonesia, some countries have been actively pushing diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis.
Still, the military has up to now appeared impervious to outside pressure.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFsamF6ZWVyYS5jb20vbmV3cy8yMDIxLzQvMS9teWFubWFyLXByb3Rlc3RlcnMtcmFsbHktYXMtdGhhaWxhbmQtc2xhbXMtbWlsaXRhcnktY3JhY2tkb3du0gFpaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYWxqYXplZXJhLmNvbS9hbXAvbmV3cy8yMDIxLzQvMS9teWFubWFyLXByb3Rlc3RlcnMtcmFsbHktYXMtdGhhaWxhbmQtc2xhbXMtbWlsaXRhcnktY3JhY2tkb3du?oc=5
2021-04-01 10:13:18Z
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