Burma: despite the fear, the demonstrators still oppose the putschists
Salute from an anti-coup activist on March 5, 2021. AFP - JACK TAYLOR
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Pro-democracy demonstrators continue to take to the streets on Saturday, March 6 in Burma, the day after a new meeting of the UN Security Council, still divided on the response to the military repression which has already made dozens of deaths.
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Fear is in all the minds of the demonstrators who continue to oppose the military putsch in Burma: at least 55 people have been killed by the security forces since the start of the peaceful uprising against the coup d'état of the 1st February which overthrew the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
In Loikaw, in the center of the country, hundreds of people, including teachers in green and white uniforms, march past holding signs calling for civil disobedience.
"
If you go to work, you help the dictatorship
", "
Our revolution must win
", chants the crowd.
A multitude of supportive messages poured in on social networks: "
We will win, but be careful
", "
Thank you, you are so brave
".
In the district of San Chaug, in Yangon, the economic capital, where makeshift barricades have been erected to protect themselves from the security forces, small groups of demonstrators gather.
The traders, which opened in the early hours of the day, hurry to close before the police and the army deploy, notes AFP.
Fatal shots
A 26-year-old man was shot dead in the neck during a rally in central Mandalay on Friday, and an NGO reported raids on apartment buildings and a hospital on the Thai border.
Two days earlier, at least 38 protesters had perished, with footage showing security forces shooting at crowds and demonstrators covered in blood, shot in the head.
As of Friday, blackouts took place in many parts of the country.
It was still not known on Saturday whether these cuts were deliberate or if they were the result of unreliable infrastructure.
Internet shutdowns, waves of arrests, recourse to lethal force: the putschist generals are more determined than ever to extinguish the wind of rebellion blowing over the country.
Because they profit from the divisions of the international community.
The UN Security Council, meeting on Friday, failed to agree on a joint declaration.
Coercive measures have been announced by the United States and the European Union, but observers urge to go further with an international embargo on arms deliveries, a move that requires the agreement of all Council members.
A simple "
cabinet reshuffle
"
Beijing and Moscow, traditional allies of the Burmese army and major arms exporters in the country, refuse to speak of a "
coup
", the Chinese press agency evoking at the beginning of February a simple "
cabinet reshuffle
".
Our country wants to be "
a friendly neighbor
," Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said on March 5, warning against sanctions that would only "
worsen tensions or further complicate the situation
."
The other regional neighbors make little voice.
Singapore, the first investor in the country, was the only one to raise the tone, evoking through its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vivian Balakrishnan, "
a national disgrace
".
But the head of diplomacy also estimated that any external pressure on the generals would have little impact.
(
with AFP
)
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To read also:
Burma: the demonstrators use ingenuity to counter military repression
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