MANDALAY: A raid on a shipyard in Myanmar's second-largest city of Mandalay turned violent on Saturday (Feb 20) when police and soldiers fired live rounds and rubber bullets at protesters.
One man died of a head wound, according to a Mandalay emergency service and media workers including Lin Khaing, an assistant editor with the Voice of Myanmar media outlet in the city.
A wounded man is carried by a medical team after security forces opened fire on protesters during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay on Feb 20, 2021. (Photo: AFP)
At least five people were injured by rubber bullets, a photographer at the scene reported, while emergency medical staff treating the injured confirmed at least six others were shot with live rounds.
"Six men with gunshot wounds arrived to our team. Two are seriously injured," a medical aide to the doctors told AFP.
The use of live rounds was confirmed by a doctor at the scene.
A protester receives treatment after being injured during the clashes in Myanmar. (Photo: AFP/STR)
According to the media and an ambulance service, police and striking shipyard workers faced off for hours and security forces fired guns to break up the crowd.
Much of the country has been in uproar since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on Feb 1, with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets to protest against the junta.
Protesters hold images of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on Feb 20, 2021. (Photo: AFP/YE AUNG THU)
Authorities have arrested hundreds of people since the putsch, many of them civil servants who had been boycotting work as part of a civil disobedience campaign.
Since the nationwide protests started two weeks ago, authorities in some cities have deployed tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
There have been isolated incidents of live rounds in the capital Naypyidaw.
An anti-coup protester who was shot in the head during a Feb 9 demonstration in Naypyidaw died on Friday.
Opponents of Myanmar's coup took to the streets again on Saturday (Feb 20) with members of ethnic minorities, writers and poets and transport workers among those coming out to demand an end to military rule and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
Protests against the Feb 1 coup that overthrew the elected government of the veteran democracy campaigner have shown no sign of dying down, with demonstrators sceptical of a military promise to hold a new election and hand power to the winner.
Police fired rubber bullets at protesting shipyard workers in the second city of Mandalay and one person was slightly hurt, pictures on social media showed.
A young woman protester died on Friday after being shot in the head last week as police dispersed a crowd in the capital, Naypyidaw, the first death among opponents of the coup in the demonstrations.
On Saturday, young people in the main city of Yangon carried a wreath and laid flowers at a memorial ceremony for the woman, Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, while a similar ceremony of remembrance took place in Naypyidaw.
"The sadness from her death is one thing, but we've also got courage to continue for her sake," student protester Khin Maw Maw Oo said at the Naypyidaw ceremony. "We need 100 people to stand up and take her place."
The United States was saddened by the death and condemned the use of force against demonstrators, a State Department spokesman said.
The army says one policeman has died of injuries sustained in a protest.
The demonstrators are demanding the restoration of the elected government, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and others and the scrapping of a 2008 Constitution, drawn up under military supervision, that gives the army a major role in politics.
Ke Jung, a youth leader from the Naga minority and an organiser of a Saturday protest by minorities in Yangon, said the protesters were also demanding a federal system.
While some minority parties doubted Aung San Suu Kyi's commitment to the cause of federalism, now was the time for all opponents of the military to unite, he said.
"We can't form a federal country under dictatorship. We can't accept the junta," he told Reuters. "We must win this fight. We stand together with the people. We will fight until the end of dictatorship."
Demonstrators protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
Myanmar has experienced insurgencies by ethnic minority factions since shortly after its independence from Britain in 1948 and the army has long proclaimed itself the only institution capable of preserving national unity.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, like the top generals, is a member of the majority Burman community.
Her government promoted a peace process with insurgent groups but she faced a storm of international criticism over the plight of the Muslim Rohingya minority after more than 700,000 fled a deadly 2017 army crackdown.
"STAND TOGETHER"
The army seized back power after alleging fraud in the Nov 8 elections that the Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) swept, detaining her and others. The electoral commission had dismissed the allegations of fraud.
Ke Jung said some minority parties were not committed to the movement against the coup.
"It's a reflection of how Aung San Suu Kyi failed to build alliances with ethnic political parties," he said.
"However, we must win this fight. We stand together with the people. We will fight until the end of dictatorship."
Salai Mon Boi, a youth leader from the Chin minority, said the Saturday protest, which happened to fall on Chin National Day, was focused on four demands: Getting rid of the Constitution, ending dictatorship, a federal system and the release of all leaders.
"There are some people who don't like NLD but we're not talking about the NLD," he said.
As well as the colourful protest by minority members, several hundred people chanting slogans gathered behind police barricades sealing of a main Yangon protest site by the Sule Pagoda.
Police block a road where protesters use to gather against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 19, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
Several thousand protesters gathered in the northern town of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, where police and soldiers have in recent days used batons and rubber bullets to break up crowds.
Crowds marched again through the ancient capital of Bagan and in Pathein town, in the Irrawaddy river delta.
In the second city of Mandalay, writers and poets held a march and later railway workers also protested.
The protests have been more peaceful than the bloodily suppressed demonstrations during nearly 50 years of direct military rule up to 2011.
In addition to the protests, a civil disobedience campaign has paralysed much government business.
The United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand have announced limited sanctions, with a focus on military leaders, including banning travel and freezing assets.
Japan and India have joined Western countries in calling for democracy to be restored quickly.
The junta has not reacted to the new sanctions. On Tuesday, an army spokesman told a news conference that sanctions had been expected.
There is little history of Myanmar's generals giving in to foreign pressure and they have closer ties to neighbouring China and to Russia, which have taken a softer approach than long critical Western countries.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was already under sanctions from Western countries following the 2017 crackdown on the Rohingya.
Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 546 people had been detained, with 46 released, as of Friday.
SINGAPORE - A work pass holder who arrived from India is among 14 new Covid-19 cases announced on Friday (Feb 19) - despite having previously tested negative twice.
The 48-year-old came to Singapore on Dec 30 and was on stay-home notice (SHN) until Jan 3. He was then immediately quarantined until Jan 13 after being identified as a close contact of another case.
The man tested negative when swabbed twice during quarantine - on Jan 4 and Jan 10. He only tested positive on Wednesday after taking a pre-departure test for his return to India.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said another sample taken from him on Thursday tested negative for the virus. His serological test has also come back positive.
"Given that these indicate likely past infection, we have classified the case as imported," said the MOH.
"He is likely to be shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA, which are no longer transmissible and infective to others."
The other 13 cases comprised one permanent resident, three dependant's pass holders, three other work pass holders, three work permit holders and three special pass holders.
The special pass holders are sea crew who arrived from Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They had not disembarked from their vessels and were tested onboard, said the MOH.
The permanent resident came from Indonesia, while the work pass holders came from India, Nepal and the UAE. The work permit holders arrived from Indonesia and Malaysia, while the dependant's pass holders came from India and Indonesia.
The number of new cases in the community has fallen to one in the past week, from eight two weeks ago.
The weekly number of unlinked cases in the community fell from five to one over the same period.
With 18 patients discharged yesterday, 59, 682 have fully recovered from the disease.
Twenty patients remain in hospital, including one in a critical condition in intensive care while 100 are recuperating in community facilities.
On Thursday, 11 Covid-19 cases were reported. All were imported cases, and had been placed on stay-home notice and tested on arrival.
None had symptoms, except a 31-year-old woman who had arrived from Italy on a student's pass and became ill on Feb 9.
The 10 others comprised a 63-year-old Singaporean woman, a permanent resident who had arrived from Bangladesh, a work pass holder who had come from the UAE and seven work permit holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
SINGAPORE: Seniors 70 years old and above will receive COVID-19 vaccination letters over the next three weeks, while inoculation for those aged between 60 and 69 will start around end-March, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Feb 19).
"Beyond the 60 to 69 (age group), then we will probably open up to more groups, and the general public will then be able to get the vaccination, probably sometime after April," said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong during a visit on Friday to a vaccination centre at Jalan Besar Community Centre.
It was announced previously that COVID-19 vaccination for seniors in the community will begin islandwide from Monday, following pilots conducted in Tanjong Pagar and Ang Mo Kio.
More than 5,000 seniors from the two towns have received their vaccinations as of Feb 18.
Singapore began its COVID-19 vaccination exercise on Dec 30, with healthcare workers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases the first to get the shots.
As of Thursday, about 250,000 people in Singapore have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, said MOH in a press release. Of those, 110,000 have received the second dose and completed the full vaccination regimen, it said.
By early April, Singapore expects to distribute the first dose of vaccines to another 1 million people, said co-chair of the COVID-19 ministerial task force Lawrence Wong, who was at the vaccination centre with Mr Gan.
This will take the total number of people in Singapore vaccinated against COVID-19 to about 1.25 million people.
Seniors will have to wait in the observation area for 30 minutes after receiving their vaccine. (Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information)
"PERSONALISED LETTERS"
Over the next three weeks, those aged 70 and above can expect to receive "personalised letters" inviting them to sign up for vaccinations by the first week of March, said MOH in a press release.
"We will start by inviting seniors living near polyclinics or vaccination centres, so that they can be conveniently vaccinated at a vaccination site near their home," the ministry said.
"By mid-March when we have opened a vaccination centre in each town, all seniors will be able to receive their vaccination," it added.
"We expect all the letters to reach our seniors aged 70 years and above by the first week of March."
Next in line for vaccination will be seniors aged 60 to 69, who will receive their invitation letters around the middle of March. Their vaccination will start from around the end of March.
Seniors will be able to schedule their vaccinations at any of the vaccination centres, 20 polyclinics, or 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) operating as vaccination sites.
Those who require assistance booking their vaccination appointments can bring their invitation letter to any community centre, where staff members will be on hand to help them.
"As the letters will be mailed based on official residential addresses, seniors are encouraged to update their residential address using the change of address e-service via the relevant government websites, so that letters will be delivered to their place of residence," said MOH.
PACE OF VACCINATION PROGRAMME "CONTINGENT ON SUPPLY"
Mr Wong told reporters that the pace of Singapore's vaccination programme is "contingent on supply more than anything else".
"That’s not something to be taken for granted," he said.
Mr Wong, who is also Minister for Education, said the supplies of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine faced delays “earlier this year”.
He added that the delays were not “so much because of export restrictions, but because there has been a surge in global demand for these vaccines”, resulting in the company needing more time to ramp up manufacturing capacity.
Another shipment is expected to come in March and with the two shipments, “we expect to be able to distribute the first dose of vaccines to another 1 million persons by around the end of March or early April", he added.
Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Education Lawrence Wong, who are co-chairs of the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force, visiting the COVID-19 vaccination at Jalan Besar Community Club on Feb 19, 2021. (Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information)
"If all goes according to plan, then we can progressively roll out to the other age groups, beyond March," said Mr Wong.
"We will continue to monitor the supply of vaccine because that's the critical issue that will enable us to get vaccines out ... We will try our best to ensure that we can get these vaccines to Singapore," he added.
The minister said authorities are also continuing to look out for other vaccine options, and will do "everything we can" to vaccinate everyone in Singapore by the end of the year.
Between the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, "there's not much to choose" in terms of its effectiveness, said Mr Wong.
"I think either one is fine ... Some centres will get Pfizer, some centres may get Moderna."
SAFETY PROCESSES IN PLACE
Mr Gan assured residents that there are safety processes in place before and after the inoculation.
"Every one that is being vaccinated has to go through quite a thorough questionnaire to ensure that they do not have a contraindication," said Mr Gan, noting that people are observed for 30 minutes after the vaccination.
"And even at the end of 30 minutes, we don't just let them go. We actually go through another round of questionnaire to make sure that they're all well. We also give them advice, should they have any reaction."
Mr Gan made the comments when asked about the 72-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest several hours after getting his first COVID-19 dose.
In announcing the case on Thursday, MOH said there is no indication that the cardiac arrest is due to the vaccination, adding that the man has a history of cancer, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.
"I have to emphasise that this particular case, based on our investigation is not related to the vaccination," said Mr Gan.
"However, it is important for us to continue to observe and to continue to monitor those who have been vaccinated, to ensure that whoever has an adverse effect, we do want to know about it so that we can collect the data and also refine our criteria for vaccination," he added.
"I want to assure Singaporeans that we do take this very seriously, whether they're related to vaccination or not, we want to know if there are any such incidents so that we can investigate in-depth and better understand the situation."
SINGAPORE: Seniors 70 years old and above will receive COVID-19 vaccination letters over the next three weeks, while inoculation for those aged between 60 and 69 will start around end-March, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Feb 19).
It was announced previously that COVID-19 vaccination for seniors in the community will begin islandwide from Monday, following pilots conducted in Tanjong Pagar and Ang Mo Kio.
More than 5,000 seniors from the two towns have received their vaccinations as of Feb 18.
Over the next three weeks, those aged 70 and above can expect to receive "personalised letters" inviting them to sign up for vaccination by the first week of March, said MOH in a press release.
"We will start by inviting seniors living near polyclinics or vaccination centres, so that they can be conveniently vaccinated at a vaccination site near their home," the ministry said.
"By mid-March when we have opened a vaccination centre in each town, all seniors will be able to receive their vaccination," it added.
"We expect all the letters to reach our seniors aged 70 years and above by the first week of March."
Next in line will be seniors aged 60 to 69, who will receive their invitation letters around the middle of March, and their vaccination will start from around the end of March.
Seniors will be able to schedule their vaccinations at any of the vaccination centres, 20 polyclinics, or 22 Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) operating as vaccination sites.
Those who require assistance booking their vaccination appointments can bring their invitation letter to any community centre from Feb 19 where staff members will be on hand to help them.
"As the letters will be mailed based on official residential addresses, seniors are encouraged to update their residential address using the change of address e-service via the relevant government websites, so that letters will be delivered to their place of residence," said MOH.
YANGON: Opponents of Myanmar's coup welcomed new sanctions from Britain and Canada as protesters took to the streets on Friday (Feb 19), marking two weeks of daily demonstrations against the Southeast Asian country's military for seizing power.
Adding to the diplomatic pressure, Japan said it agreed with Australia, India and the US on the need for democracy to be restored quickly after the Feb 1 army takeover in which elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained.
Youth leader and activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi applauded Britain's asset freezes and travel bans on three generals as well as steps to stop any aid helping the military and to prevent British businesses working with the army. Canada said it would take action against nine military officials.
"We urge other nations to have such coordinated and united response," she wrote on Twitter. "We will be waiting for EU sanctions announcement on 22nd," she said, calling on people to gather at the EU office push for sanctions to include measures against military businesses.
Railway workers protest in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 19, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
A small group of opponents of the coup gathered outside the British embassy in the main city of Yangon saying they wanted to offer thanks for the support. A member of staff came out to talk to them.
Police in Yangon sealed off the city's main protest site near the Sule Pagoda, setting up barricades on access roads to a big intersection where tens of thousands have gathered this week.
Several hundred protesters gathered at the barricades anyway, a witness said, while crowds also formed at another favourite protest site near the university.
Protesters waving signs and flags drove around the northern city of Myitkyina on motorbikes, images on social media showed, and confronted police blocking some roads.
Clashes have occurred in the town, the capital of Kachin State, over the past two weeks with police firing rubber bullets and catapults to disperse crowds.
LGBTQ supporters march during a protest in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 19, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
Myanmar's junta has not yet reacted to the new sanctions. On Tuesday, an army spokesman told a news conference that sanctions had been expected.
There is little history of Myanmar's generals giving in to foreign pressure and they have closer ties to neighbouring China and to Russia, which have taken a softer approach than long critical Western countries.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing was already under sanctions from Western countries following the 2017 crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Railway workers protest in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 19, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
"Sanctioning military leaders is largely symbolic, but the moves to sanction military companies will be much more effective," said Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK group in a reaction to the sanctions.
After nearly half a century of full military rule, businesses linked to the army have a significant stake across the economy in the country of 53 million people, with interests ranging from banking to beer, telecoms and transport.
The army seized back power after alleging fraud in Nov 8 elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, halting a transition to democracy that had begun in 2011 and detaining her and hundreds of others.
Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 521 people had been detained as of Thursday. Of them, 44 had been released.
The junta has also come under pressure from demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign that has paralysed much government business.
Anti-coup protesters face a row of riot police outside the Hledan Centre in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. The daily protests campaigning for civil disobedience in Myanmar are increasingly focusing on businesses and government institutions that sustain the economy. (AP Photo)
More protests were planned on Friday, marking the 14th day of what have become the biggest street demonstrations since "Saffron Revolution" protests in 2007, which, though suppressed, helped nudge the military to begin withdrawing from politics.
The marches have been more peaceful than the bloodily suppressed demonstrations under previous juntas, but police have fired rubber bullets several times to disperse protesters.
One protester died after being shot in the head in the capital Naypyitaw last week. The army says one policeman died of injuries sustained in a protest.
Three people were wounded by rubber bullets late on Thursday in the southeastern town of Dawei when members of the community took to the streets to prevent the arrest of a protest leader, media outlet Dawei Watch said.
Protesters have called for the recognition of last year's election as well as the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees.
The detained leader 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 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her struggle.
