Burma: thousands of demonstrators, a call for massive mobilization
Protesters against the military coup shielding in Bagan, Burma, March 7.
AFP - STR
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The repression continues this Sunday, March 7 in Burma against pro-democracy demonstrators who took to the streets by the thousands, with several protesters injured.
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In Bagan, in the center of the country, not far from the vast archaeological site famous for its century-old pagodas, detonations were heard.
In Yangon, the economic capital, the police fired again to disperse rallies, protesters chanting: "
Let's drive out the dictator!"
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
Other
rallies
are being held in Mandalay, the country's second largest city, and in Dawei, in the south, where several protesters have been killed in recent days.
The pro-democracy movement called for a massive mobilization on Sunday and Monday.
Live ammunition
Fear is on everyone's mind: more than 50 people have been killed since the start of the peaceful uprising against the February 1 coup.
Widely circulated footage showed security forces firing live ammunition at rallies and removing the lifeless bodies of protesters.
The Union, Solidarity and Development Party (PUSD), supported by the army, is participating in the attacks.
Members of the PUSD on Friday killed a local representative of the National League for Democracy (LND), Aung San Suu Kyi's party, and a 17-year-old teenager, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP) .
On Saturday March 6, the security forces continued to fire live ammunition at demonstrators, according to this Burmese NGO.
State media, for their part, deny any involvement of the police and the army in the deaths of demonstrators.
Violent raids
Raids took place during the night from Saturday to Sunday, targeting in particular officials of the National League for Democracy.
An LND lawyer was also targeted, but security forces could not find him.
►Also read: Burma: international sanctions are gradually increasing
Local officials, politicians, journalists, activists, artists.
Hundreds of people have been arrested since February 1.
Those arrested in Yangon are often taken to the infamous Insein prison where many political prisoners served heavy sentences under previous dictatorships.
State media on Sunday warned MPs who do not recognize the legitimacy of the coup and have created a committee to represent the civilian government that they are committing "
high treason
", punishable by death or 22 years of detention.
(
with AFP
)
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