Burma: "The tactic used is not accidental: we want to kill people"

Protesters demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Naypyidaw, March 4, 2021. AFP - STR

Text by: Christophe Paget Follow

5 mins

In Burma, this Thursday, March 4, 2021, the demonstrators continued to take to the streets, despite the repression of the military junta.

The United Nations raised the tone: Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged the military to stop "murdering" pro-democracy protesters.

Jean-François Rancourt, political scientist at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Montreal and specialist in Burma, answers RFI's questions.

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RFI: How do you explain this increase in the number of killed in recent days?

Jean-François Rancourt

: The protests have been underway for over a month now.

One can imagine that the military hoped that things would run out of steam with arrests and a crackdown, say, non-lethal initially.

Obviously, they have decided to opt for a new murderous tactic.

This shows in particular that at this stage, the Burmese military no longer fear the reaction of the international community.

It must be said that the military have been able to maintain control over the state for several decades, while being the target of economic sanctions from the West ... Several countries are still doing business with Burma despite the sanctions. : we think of China, Russia, several countries in Southeast Asia, members of ASEAN in particular.

Several countries also still have very close relations with the Burmese military, despite accusations of genocide that were brought following the 2017 abuses against the Rohingyas: there are about ten countries that sell equipment to the Burmese military.

So these soldiers probably feel safe enough to continue the violence and repression.

Can we compare what is happening with the situation during the major demonstrations of 1988 and 2007?

The comparisons are quite valid.

In the three events (1988, 2007 and today) we have armed forces which have total control - at least, that's what they hope - a population which in a very, very, very majority, is dissatisfied and takes the streets to demonstrate and at this moment the beginning of a methodical violence.

Because it must be said that the tactics used are not accidental.

Most of the victims on Wednesday received live ammunition in the head or in the chest: we want to kill people.

When you look at what happened in 1988 and 2007, in 1988 the most conservative estimates of the total number of deaths were around 500 to 1,000 deaths, but we are also talking about 10,000 deaths… In 2007 there are had also had several dozen or even several hundred deaths.

So for the moment the anguish is very, very strong because we know very well what the Burmese soldiers are capable of.

Why is the junta targeting journalists, especially by arresting them?

The objective here is to control the information that leaves the country.

However, the military will be able to target journalists as long as they want, I strongly doubt their ability to achieve this objective.

The population is now equipped with mobile phones which can take videos, so now “citizen journalism”, so to speak, complements professional journalism.

So the more the military beats journalists like this, the more motivated and responsible people feel to get information out of the country.

This is really a completely different variable compared to the other two great protest movements: the chronic inability of the military to fully control the information coming out of the country.

Does this movement go beyond the big Burmese cities?

Yes quite.

It is a movement that really has a national scope, which goes beyond the big cities.

But that also goes beyond the simple majority ethnic group that are the Bamars: historically there have always been conflicts with certain minority groups, but at the moment we see that almost everyone is rallying on the same side, against the military.

So, it's really a battle that goes beyond cities, metropolises, it can go from small towns of 10,000 inhabitants to the very populous Yangon.

It really is something that is spreading all over the country now.

And at the same time, repression too ...

Unfortunately yes, a repression which is also based on tactics well "tested" in the past by the military: for example, we will prefer to bring soldiers who come from other regions to carry out the abuses inside a city. , to ensure that the soldiers will not be reluctant to open fire on people who could be their family or their friends, for example.

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 To read also: The Burmese mourn the young Kyal Sin and go back down to the street

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