A show of force. On the occasion of the “day of the armed forces”, the Burmese army marched, Saturday March 27, an impressive arsenal in the capital Naypyidaw, while in several cities of the country, new pro-democracy demonstrations were severely repressed. .
In the early hours of the day, thousands of soldiers, tanks, missiles and helicopters followed one another on a huge esplanade where a crowd of generals and their guests gathered, including Russian and Chinese delegations.
Pro-democracy activists called for a new round of protests on Saturday, when the army annually holds a massive military parade in the capital Naypyidaw. Ei Thinzar Maung, one of the figures of the anti-coup protests, urged the population to take to the streets. “I pray everyone to be safe tomorrow”, she posted on social media. “We will win this! “The time has come to fight military oppression. “
Feared troubles
General Min Aung Hlaing again defended the coup organization due to alleged electoral fraud in the November elections, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won, and vowed that a “Transfer of state responsibility” would occur after an election.
“The Tatmadaw [l’armée birmane] seeks the commitment of the whole nation ”, he said in a speech, adding that the acts of “Terrorism which can harm the peace and security of the State” are unacceptable. “The democracy we want would be an unruly democracy if the law was broken and not respected. “
Many fear that the date, which commemorates the beginning of the resistance of the Burmese army to the Japanese occupation during World War II, could be accompanied by unrest.
Before dawn, security forces had already cracked down on protesters in Yangon, the economic capital of the country, while a student rally in Lashio, northeast Shan state, saw police and the soldiers open fire on the crowd.
“People had not started to demonstrate, no slogan had been uttered. The army and the police arrived and shot them with live ammunition without issuing any warning ”, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Mai Kaung Saing, a local journalist.
322 people detained following demonstrations
Security forces have cracked down on protests against the coup in recent weeks with increasingly deadly force, using tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to disrupt rallies.
State television broadcast a message on Friday evening calling on young people to stop participating in a “Violent movement”. “Learn the lesson of those who died after being shot in the head and back … Do not die in vain”said the message.
According to an advocacy group for political prisoners, 320 people have been killed in the unrest since the military coup on 1er February, and more than 3,000 were arrested. Yangon’s infamous Insein prison on Friday released 322 people held in protests, adding to the more than 600 released earlier in the week.