On Thursday, protests continued in the streets of Myanmar, after a day that the UN special mission described as the bloodiest since the coup of February 1, and activists pledged to continue demonstrations despite the atmosphere of fear that hangs over them.
In the economic capital of Rangoon, small rallies were formed, during which demonstrators chanted "We United," and barricaded themselves behind makeshift barriers made of old tires, bricks, sandbags and barbed wire.
The French Press Agency quoted eyewitnesses as saying that "staying in the streets is dangerous", because the police and the army shoot, but pro-democracy activists pledged to organize more demonstrations.
A large crowd gathered Thursday in Mandalay (the second largest city in the country) for the funeral of a 19-year-old girl who died on Wednesday, and the mourners who gathered in front of her coffin surrounded by flowers chanted, "We will not sacrifice your death until the end of the world."
And Chell Sen has become a symbol in the country;
A picture of her, shortly before she was hit by a fatal bullet, wore a T-shirt that read "Everything will be fine" on social networks, and the Aung San Suu Kyi Party announced flags at half-mast in its offices in honor of the memory of the dead.
Reuters quoted an activist as saying, "We know that we can always be shot with live bullets and killed, but it makes no sense to survive under the rule of the military council, so we chose this dangerous path of salvation," adding, "We will fight the military council in any way possible; our final goal." Is eradicating it. "
Yesterday, Wednesday, was the bloodiest since the coup, as 38 demonstrators were killed by (European) army and police bullets.
Put down the protests
The military appears to be determined more than ever to quell the protests that have rocked the country since the coup that toppled the government of Chancellor Aung San Sochi.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgner, confirmed that 38 people had been killed while security dispersed the demonstrations, and that the number of protesters had exceeded 50 since the coup, and among the victims were 4 minors, one of whom was a 14-year-old, according to non-governmental organizations.
On Wednesday, the security forces fired live bullets in several cities to disperse gatherings calling for democracy, and photos published on social media showed protesters covered in blood and had bullet wounds to the head.
The UN envoy held talks with the military group and warned her that the United Nations "can take important steps" to try to end the violence. She also offered to visit Myanmar, but the army responded that it welcomed her "but not now."
In the context, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for an end to what he called the cycle of violence against peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar, and stressed the need to restore the democratic process.
In a tweet on Twitter, Michel warned that the killing of civilians should not remain unpunished, and stressed that the European Union is preparing to take punitive measures against those responsible for the violence in Myanmar.
At the beginning of last month, the army carried out a coup, arrested the country's president, state advisor Aung San Suu Kyi, and a number of senior officials, and declared a state of emergency for a year, putting an end to a period in which civilian rule prevailed that lasted 10 years.
Since the military coup, the country has witnessed a wave of anger and defiance from hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who are constantly gathering to demand the release of Sochi and the return of democracy.