Burma army crackdowns on protests, killing at least one protester

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The Burmese army cracked down on Saturday (April 24) demonstrations that took place across the country against the coup, killing at least one protester. A motorcycle demonstration, where opponents gave the resistance three-fingered salutes near the capital, Naypyidaw, escalated violently when police and soldiers opened fire. A 50-year-old man was arrested and executed, a witness told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“The police held him on each side, then a soldier shot him in the back”the 27-year-old protester said, adding that security forces took his body away. “We only had three-fingered salutes, but they had weapons to kill us”, he added.

For his first trip abroad since the coup, the head of the Burmese junta, Burmese General Min Aung Hlaing, took part in a crisis meeting in Jakarta on Saturday with leaders of the Association of Nations. from Southeast Asia (Asean), a presence that angered protesters in Burma.

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Over 700 dead

In Jakarta, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on the Burmese junta to restore democracy and end violence against civilians. Unusually firm statements for the leader of the largest country in the region. For his part, the Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, demanded the release of the head of the civilian government Aung San Suu Kyi, placed under house arrest.

Since the military coup of 1er In February, the crackdown left more than 700 dead in Burma, and a UN rapporteur estimated the number of refugees at over 250,000, threatening to destabilize the region.

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Almost daily demonstrations to demand the departure of the ruling junta take place in cities as well as in rural areas, isolated mountainous regions or territories controlled by rebels.

Two people, including a civilian, were killed Friday evening in the town of Thaton (south) during an exchange of gunfire between the army and the rebel movement Union nationale karen (UNK). “Nobody dared to go look for the bodies yesterday and people went there this morning”, a resident told AFP, accusing the army of being responsible for the shooting.

The World with AFP