People returned to the streets of Naypyidaw, Myanmar\u2019s remote capital, on Wednesday, after the police used rubber bullets and water cannon to break up protests leaving two people in hospital, one of them fighting for her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations and the United States condemned the use of force against the protesters, who want elected leader Aung Suu Kyi Kyi and other politicians from the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) released and a return to civilian rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot stay quiet,\u201d youth leader Esther Ze Naw told Reuters news agency. \u201cIf there is bloodshed during our peaceful protests, then there will be more if we let them take over the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of government workers marched through Naypyidaw in support of a civil disobedience campaign that sprung up in the wake of last week\u2019s coup and has been joined by people including doctors, teachers and railway workers. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across the country in recent days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Late on Tuesday, the military raided the Yangon headquarters of the NLD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe military dictator raided and destroyed NLD headquarters at around 9.30pm (15:00 GMT),\u201d the National League for Democracy announced in a short statement on its Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The raid was carried out by about a dozen police personnel, who forced their way into the building in the commercial capital after dark, elected lawmakers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The party, which won November 2020\u2019s election by a landslide, had been due to start a second term on the day the military seized power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The raid followed the fourth day of demonstrations across Myanmar with police using water cannon in several cities, firing rubber-coated bullets in Naypyidaw and deploying tear gas in Mandalay, the country\u2019s second-biggest city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US condemned the escalation, urging the military to free Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained in last week\u2019s coup and step down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe strongly condemn violence against demonstrators,\u201d US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington, DC. \u201cAll individuals in Burma have rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, including for the purposes of peaceful protest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Price said the US\u2019s attempts to reach Aung San Suu Kyi \u201cin the hours and days after the coup\u201d had been denied, but he said the international community was \u201cattempting every avenue to ensure that democracy and civilian leadership is restored in Burma.\u201d Myanmar was previously known as Burma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protesters shot<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Naypyidaw, built by a previous military regime in secrecy, witnesses said police fired projectiles at protesters after earlier dousing them with water cannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey fired warning shots to the sky two times, then they fired (at protesters) with rubber bullets,\u201d a resident told AFP news agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least one doctor in a hospital emergency unit said the military was also using live rounds, leaving a 23-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman in a critical condition in hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe believe they are actual bullets because of the wounds and their injuries,\u201d the doctor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another doctor said the woman who was shot in the head remained in a critical condition, but was not expected to survive. Social media video verified by Reuters news agency showed her with other protesters some distance from a row of riot police as a water cannon was deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several shots were also heard and the woman, wearing a motorcycle helmet, suddenly collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pictures of her helmet showed what appeared to be a bullet hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The father of the 23-year-old said his son had been shot \u201cwhen he tried to use the megaphone to ask people to protest peacefully after the police used water cannon to disperse them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe got hit in the back \u2026 I\u2019m very worried about him,\u201d the 56-year-old goldsmith told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further north in Mandalay, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters.
A witness, who declined to be named out of fear of the authorities, said she gave shelter to about 20 protesters, offering them water, towels and fresh face masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations voiced its \u201cstrong concern\u201d over the violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable,\u201d said Ola Almgren, the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western countries are weighing new sanctions on the military following the February 1 coup which brought Myanmar\u2019s 10 year transition to democracy to a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are currently reviewing all our options,\u201d European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told the European Parliament on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are making no bones about where we stand when it comes to the military\u2019s need to relinquish power,\u201d the US State Department\u2019s Price said. \u201cWe are undertaking a careful review of the assistance that we provide to Burma and with an eye towards ensuring that those responsible for this coup do face significant consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concern for future<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing made his first speech to the country on Monday \u2013 a week after seizing power \u2013 and reiterated his claim that the coup was necessary because of alleged election fraud in the November 8 poll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also announced a ban on gatherings of five or more people and a curfew.
But the address, broadcast on state television, had little effect on protesters who began gathering from the early morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the afternoon, thousands were on streets, some wearing construction helmets and equipped with plastic raincoats and umbrellas in case the police used water cannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many carried banners urging the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and condemning the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course we are worried (about a crackdown),\u201d said protester Khin Thida Nyein, a teacher. \u201cWe only have one life but we still come out \u2026. as we are more concerned for the future of our children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, civil aviation workers and air traffic controllers have joined the burgeoning civil disobedience movement with their strike set to affect international flights wanting to pass through Myanmar\u2019s airspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previous military regimes cracked down harshly on pro-democracy protests in 1988 and 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1990, the military held elections but refused to recognise the outcome after the NLD swept to victory. Aung San Suu Kyi spent the next 20 years in and out of detention and house arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 75-year-old faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies and is being held in detention until February 15. Her lawyer said he has not been allowed to see her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Al Jazeera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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