SINGAPORE: Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Thursday (Feb 18) that there should be no violence against unarmed civilians in Myanmar, adding that live rounds should not be fired on them under any circumstances.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement that Dr Balakrishnan met with Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who was in Singapore for a two-day visit, and both ministers expressed “grave concern” over the ongoing developments in Myanmar.
It added that Dr Balakrishnan “urged all parties involved to exercise utmost restraint and take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation”.
“He stressed that there should be no violence against unarmed civilians,” said MFA.
“In particular, live rounds should not be fired on unarmed civilians under any circumstances.”
Earlier this month, the military seized power in Myanmar and detained several democratically elected leaders including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint of the National League for Democracy.
The coup has led to massive demonstrations around the country, and security forces opened fire on Wednesday in Myanmar’s second largest city of Mandalay, as they tried to break up a protest that stopped trains running as part of a civil disobedience movement.
It was not clear whether police and soldiers used rubber bullets or live rounds.
On Thursday, both Dr Balakrishnan and Mdm Marsudi expressed hope that all parties involved would “maintain dialogue and work towards a peaceful resolution and national reconciliation in Myanmar, including a return to its path of democratic transition”, said MFA.
Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Feb 18, 2021. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore)
The ministers also discussed possible next steps for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address the situation in Myanmar, “including how it could foster inclusive dialogue with all key stakeholders”, said the ministry.
“They also expressed strong support for a proposed Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Myanmar to be convened as soon as possible, to facilitate a constructive exchange of views and identify a possible way forward.”
YANGON: Protesters were out again across Myanmar on Thursday (Feb 18), from busy intersections in downtown Yangon to the ancient capital of Bagan, to denounce the Feb 1 coup and the arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The daily protests and strikes that have paralysed many government offices show no sign of easing despite a junta promise of a new election and appeals for civil servants to return to work and threats of action if they do not.
On Thursday, big crowds returned to Yangon's central Sule Pagoda, others to another favourite protest site at an intersection near the main university campus.
Police stand by as protesters take part in a demonstration blocking a road with their cars and demanding the release of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on Feb 18, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thu)
The street marches have been more peaceful than the bloodily suppressed demonstrations seen during an earlier half century of army rule, but they and the civil disobedience movement have had a crippling effect on much official business.
Protesters take part in a demonstration blocking a road with their cars and demanding the release of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on Feb 18, 2021. (Photo: AFP/Ye Aung Thu)
"I don't want to wake up in a dictatorship. We don't want to live the rest of our lives in fear," said slow-car protester Ko Soe Min.
"I'll be happy if government officers are late for work or can't get there at all."
In the second-biggest city of Mandalay, protesters rallied to demand the release of two officials arrested in the coup, and in the old capital of Bagan people with banners and flags marched in colourful processions against a backdrop of ancient temples.
Some protesters in Bagan stopped at one temple to put a curse on dictators, a witness said.
Putting an end to the civil disobedience campaign appears to be the military government's priority.
The army announced late on Wednesday that six local celebrities, including film directors, actors and a singer, were wanted under an anti-incitement law for encouraging civil servants to join in the protest.
The charges can carry a two-year prison sentence.
"It's amazing to see the unity of our people. People's power must return to the people," actor Lu Min, who was on the junta's 'wanted list', posted defiantly on his Facebook page.
An activist group that monitors social media said that since Feb 9, posts had shown some sort of protest in about 90 per cent of cities and towns across the country.
The military says a majority of people back its actions.
SHOTS FIRED
Train services have been badly disrupted and after dark, security forces in the second biggest city of Manadalay confronted striking railway workers, opening fire with rubber bullets and catapults and throwing stones, residents said.
One charity worker was wounded in the leg by a rubber bullet.
Neither the army nor the police made any immediate comment on the incident, but the army's Facebook page said forces were providing security across the country to "make sure people have tranquillity and sound sleep".
The number of people known to have been detained since the coup halted a tentative transition towards democracy had reached 495 by Wednesday, Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said in a statement.
It said 460 were still being held.
A colleague told AFP that 11 foreign ministry officials were arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning for taking part in civil disobedience activities.
A police officer, who asked not to be named, told AFP at least 50 civil servants from multiple ministries have been detained in the last four days.
The army took power after the electoral commission rejected its accusations of fraud in a Nov 8 election swept by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, prompting anger from Western countries as well as the local protests.
More demonstrations were planned for Thursday - including by student groups and workers from different ethnic groups in the diverse country of more than 53 million people.
Coup opponents are deeply sceptical of junta promises to hand over power after a new election for which no date has yet been set.
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, detained since the coup, now faces a charge of violating a Natural Disaster Management Law as well as charges of illegally importing six walkie talkie radios. Her next court appearance has been set for Mar 1.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, spent nearly 15 years under house arrest for her efforts to bring democracy.
The army says that one policeman died of injuries sustained in a protest. One protester who was shot in the head during a protest in the capital Naypyitaw is being kept on life support, but doctors say she is not expected to survive.
YANGON: Myanmar's anti-coup protesters returned to the streets in force on Wednesday (Feb 17), staging the biggest demonstrations since troops fanned out around the country to quell opposition to the new military government.
Much of the country has been in open revolt since the army deposed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's government at the start of the month and charged her under an obscure import law.
Tens of thousands rallied in Yangon, some blockading roads with vehicles to stop security forces from moving around the nation's biggest city.
"We have to fight until the end," Nilar, a 21-year-old student who asked not to use her real name, told AFP.
"We need to show our unity and strength to end military rule. People need to come out on the streets."
Demonstrators gather in an intersection close to Sule Pagoda to protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
In the second biggest city Mandalay, police and soldiers broke up a protest that had blocked the railway, two sources told AFP.
Yan Naing, a member of a local emergency rescue service, said security forces opened fire, though it was not clear whether rubber bullets or live rounds were used.
Wednesday's crowds came in defiance of violent efforts by the regime to bring resistance to heel - including use of tear gas and rubber bullets - following nationwide protests and a disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to strike.
Protests over the previous two days had been noticeably smaller since troops were deployed around Yangon at the weekend.
There were anti-coup demonstrations across Myanmar on Wednesday, from the remote highland region of Chin state to a small town in the Irrawaddy delta where parading protesters hoisted Aung San Suu Kyi posters.
Outside the administrative capital Naypyidaw, tens of thousands of people marched through the logging town of Pyinmana carrying signs saying "Help Myanmar".
UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews warned that soldiers entering Yangon, as had been reported, could lead to the situation there spiralling out of control.
"We could be on the precipice of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar," he said.
One young woman remained in a critical condition in Naypyidaw after being shot in the head last week.
Riot policeman stand guarding outside Yangon City Hall during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Scores of well-wishers gathered on Wednesday at the site where she was shot to hold a prayer session, carrying posters of her.
The military said a police officer had died in Mandalay after a confrontation with protesters on Sunday, adding in a statement: "Those who committed lawless action on the police officer will be dealt with as necessary."
NEW CHARGE FOR AUNG SAN SUU KYI
The military has justified its power seizure by alleging widespread voter fraud in November elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in a landslide.
After her detention in a dawn raid on Feb 1, Aung San Suu Kyi was charged with possessing unregistered walkie-talkies found in her home.
Riot policeman stand guarding outside Yangon City Hall during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP on Tuesday that Aung San Suu Kyi was also charged with violating the country's disaster management law. Further details of that charge have not been made public.
The disaster management law has also been used against deposed president Win Myint for an election campaign event that the military government claims broke coronavirus restrictions.
Her lawyer added that Suu Kyi and Win Myint, both of whom he has yet to have any contact with, were expected to appear via video link during a Mar 1 trial.
Demonstrators gather in an intersection to protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
In a further sign of the military's efforts to stifle the protest movement, state broadcaster MRTV said arrest warrants had been issued for several popular actors, directors and a singer.
They are accused of using their "popularity and fame" to encourage people to join the civil disobedience movement against the military government, MRTV said.
And the country suffered a fourth consecutive night of "curfew-style internet shutdown" starting around 1am on Thursday, according to NetBlocks, a Britain-based group that monitors internet outages around the world.
Demonstrators display a banner with an image of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
It said internet connectivity had dropped to just 21 per cent of ordinary levels.
'NOT WHAT CHINA WANTS TO SEE'
More than 450 people have been arrested since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
Western powers and the United Nations have repeatedly condemned the leaders of Myanmar's new military administration, which insists it took power lawfully.
China had initially not criticised the coup, which Chinese state media described as a "cabinet reshuffle".
However, Beijing's ambassador to Myanmar said Tuesday that the current situation in the country was "absolutely not what China wants to see".
BANGKOK: The lawyer representing Myanmar democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi said on Wednesday (Feb 17) he is preparing for the worst in a trial he fears could take six months.
Attorney Khin Maung Zaw is defending the ousted civilian leader, who was detained during the Feb 1 coup on an obscure charge under the country's import and export law for having walkie-talkies at her home.
On Wednesday the military regime hit Aung San Suu Kyi with a second criminal charge, accusing her of holding an election campaign event last year which the junta claims breached coronavirus restrictions under natural disaster management laws.
"We hope for the best but are prepared for the worst," Khin Maung Zaw told AFP by phone, adding he is hoping for a fair trial.
The veteran human rights lawyer said he applied on Wednesday for permission to speak to his client and receive instructions ahead of the next court hearing on Mar 1.
"When will this be granted? I don't know," he said.
Khin Maung Zaw said he has not been allowed to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi in person and is worried about the confidentiality of their discussions over video or phone calls.
"It's more appropriate to meet with her in person without being interfered by anyone," he said.
"ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN"
At the next hearing the judge, prosecutor and defence lawyer will discuss the complexity of case and work out a time frame for proceedings and schedule for witnesses.
Khin Maung Zaw says if the case is classified as simple it could be wrapped up in six months, but if deemed more complex it could drag out for a year or more.
"In this country anything can happen," when asked if there was a danger of long delays.
At Tuesday's hearing Khin Maung Zaw's junior colleague was barred from being inside the room with the judge and prosecutor who could see Aung San Suu Kyi by video link.
"He couldn't see her because we weren't allowed to participate in the video conference because we aren't duly appointed at the time," he said, adding his colleague could hear the voices of the judge and defendant.
A United Nations special envoy has hit out at the "secretive trial" of Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who also faces the same charge under natural disaster management laws.
The pair are in a "safer place" and "in good health", according to military spokesman Zaw Min Tun who addressed the media in Naypyidaw on Tuesday.
"It's not like they were arrested - they are staying at their houses," said the general, who became the country's vice-minister of information after the coup.
The United States and Britain condemned the new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi, and renewed demands for her release.
More than 450 people have been arrested since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
