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Kamis, 04 Maret 2021

Myanmar army is 'surprised' at opposition to coup: UN envoy - CNA

UNITED NATIONS: The UN special envoy for Myanmar said the generals who have seized power in the Southeast Asian nation indicated they do not fear renewed sanctions, though they are “very surprised” that their plans to restore military rule without much opposition is not working.

Christine Schraner Burgener told UN correspondents on Wednesday (Mar 3) that after the Feb 1 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government from power she warned Myanmar’s army that the world’s nations and the UN Security Council “might take huge strong measures”.

“And the answer was: ‘We are used to sanctions and we survived those sanctions in the past,’” the UN envoy said.

When she also warned the army that Myanmar would become isolated, Schraner Burgener said: “The answer was: ‘We have to learn to walk with only a few friends.’”

The coup reversed years of slow progress towards democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under strict military rule that led to international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grip, culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to power after 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country.

Schraner Burgener noted that opposition to the coup was being spearheaded by young people who lived in freedom for 10 years, noting they “are well organised and very determined they don’t want to go back into dictatorship and isolation”. She was speaking by video link from Bern, Switzerland, on what she called “the bloodiest day since the coup”.

READ: UN says 38 dead in Myanmar's 'bloodiest' day since coup

READ: Myanmar police break up protests again after bloodiest day since coup

Schraner Burgener urged a united international community “to take the right measures”, stressing that Security Council sanctions that must be implemented by every country would be “more powerful” than sanctions by individual countries.

UN United Nations Myanmar UN Envoy — United Nations envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener.

The council has scheduled closed consultations for Friday on calls to reverse the coup — including from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres — and the escalating military crackdown, which Schraner Burgener said killed 38 people on Wednesday alone.

Schraner Burgener said she receives about 2,000 messages a day from people in Myanmar, many desperate to see an international response. She said she also speaks every day with representatives of the ousted Parliament and has spoken several times with the armed forces deputy commander-in-chief Soe Win most recently on Feb 15.

READ: Widespread sanctions on Myanmar would cause ordinary people to suffer - Vivian Balakrishnan

THE JUNTA'S PLANS

Schraner Burgener said the deputy commander explained in their first phone call on Feb 4 that the new State Administration Council — the name for the new ruling junta — is charged with implementing a five-step military roadmap.

That roadmap, which the junta has also published in state-run media in Myanmar, includes reconstituting the electoral commission, which rejected the military’s allegations of fraud in a November election where Suu Kyi’s party won 82 per cent of the vote. She said that has already been done.

It aims for a national cease-fire agreement with all 21 ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, which Schraner Burgener said is going to be difficult as 10 have already taken a strong stand against the coup.

It also aims at stamping out COVID-19 and recovering business activity. Its final task is holding new elections in a year.

Protesters cover with makeshift shields during an anti-coup protest in Yangon, Myanmar, March 3, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

Schraner Burgener said in her view the military’s “tactic” was to investigate members and leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, prove they committed crimes like election fraud, treason or working with foreigners, and put them in prison.

“And then the NLD will be banned and then they will have new elections where they want to win, and then they can continue to stay in power,” she said.

“The army had told me the plan — to threaten the people, to make arrests and then the majority of the people would go home because they have fear,” Schraner Burgener said. Then the military “have the control back again”, and people will get used to the situation “and go back to business as usual”.

She said the army is surprised by the opposition, which has been led by young people.

“I think that the army is very surprised that it doesn’t work because in the past, in 1988 and 2007 and 2008, it worked,” she said, noting the years of previous violent military crackdowns on uprisings against its rule.

Police stand on a road during an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 3, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

VISIT TO MYANMAR DENIED

She has an office in the capital Naypyidaw and has been asking to return since the coup on condition she can talk to the military leaders and see representatives of the ousted parliamentarians as well as Aung San Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint, who are among about 1,200 people she says are detained.

“I really hope to visit Myanmar as quickly as possible,” she said. “I don’t have the solution on the silver plate, but I have some ideas which I would like to discuss.”

Schraner Burgener did not disclose the ideas.

She said the military has told her the time is not right yet for a visit. She asked if she could visit if she lifted her conditions and said she was told it would not make a difference.

READ: With violent crackdowns, is Myanmar passing the point of no return? A commentary

READ: 'How will they survive' - Myanmar coup cuts lifeline for migrants' families

During her three years as the UN special envoy, Schraner Burgener said she always warned the Security Council and the General Assembly that a coup could happen because she knew the structure of the government — that the military had the power.

Under Myanmar’s constitution, drafted under military rule, the army maintained control of many key ministries surrounding defence and security and also was guaranteed enough seats in Parliament to override any changes to the charter.

“I always felt she was on a tightrope dealing with the army,” Schraner Burgener said of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Schraner Burgener said she thought military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who staged the coup, was “really afraid” that Aung San Suu Kyi would have more success with reforms following her “overwhelming victory in the election”.

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2021-03-04 07:46:06Z
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Myanmar police break up protests again after bloodiest day since coup - CNA

Myanmar police broke up demonstrations in several places with tear gas and gunfire on Thursday (Mar 4) but there was no immediate word on casualties a day after the United Nations said 38 people had been killed in the bloodiest day since last month's coup.

Undeterred by the crackdown, activists said they refused to accept the Feb. 1 military coup and were determined to press for the release of elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and recognition of her victory in a November election.

"We know that we can always get shot and killed with live bullets but there is no meaning to staying alive under the junta," activist Maung Saungkha told Reuters.

Protests at Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021 (1) — Protesters run away as police fire tear gas in Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

Police later opened fire and used tear gas to break up protests in Yangon and the central town of Monywa, witnesses said. Police also fired in the town of Pathein, to the west of Yangon, media reported.

Protesters gathered elsewhere including in the historic temple town of Bagan where hundreds marched carrying pictures of Suu Kyi and a banner saying: "Free our leader", a witness said.

In some parts of Yangon, protesters hung sheets and sarongs on lines across the street to obscure the view of police aiming their guns. They also uncoiled barbed wire to reinforce barricades.

Five fighter jets made several low passes in formation over the second city of Mandalay early on Thursday, residents said, in what appeared to be a show of military might.

READ: UN says 38 dead in Myanmar's 'bloodiest' day since coup

READ: Myanmar army is 'surprised' at opposition to coup - UN envoy

On Wednesday, police and soldiers opened fire with live rounds with little warning in several cities and towns, witnesses said.

UN special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said in New York that Wednesday was the bloodiest day since the Feb 1 coup with 38 deaths, bringing the total toll to more than 50 as the military tries to impose its authority.

"Myanmar's security forces now seem intent on breaking the back of the anti-coup movement through wanton violence and sheer brutality,” said Richard Weir, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.

In one particularly brutal incident, a man in custody appeared to have been shot in the back, the group said.

A spokesman for the ruling military council did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.

Protests at Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021 (3) — Police fire tear gas at protesters in Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

'FEW FRIENDS'

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party said in a statement that flags would fly at half mast at its offices to commemorate the dead.

Schraner Burgener said she warned Myanmar deputy military chief Soe Win that the military was likely to face strong measures from some countries and isolation in retaliation for the coup.

"The answer was: 'We are used to sanctions, and we survived'," she told reporters. "When I also warned they will go (into) isolation, the answer was: 'We have to learn to walk with only few friends'."

READ: Widespread sanctions on Myanmar would cause ordinary people to suffer - Vivian Balakrishnan

READ: With violent crackdowns, is Myanmar passing the point of no return? A commentary

The UN Security Council is due to discuss the situation on Friday in a closed meeting, diplomats said.

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said the "systematic brutality" of the military was again on display.

"I urge members of the UN Security Council to view the photos/videos of the shocking violence," he said on Twitter.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was "appalled" by the violence and was evaluating how to respond.

The United States has told China it expects it to play a constructive role, he said. China has declined to condemn the coup, with Chinese state media calling it a "major cabinet reshuffle".

The European Union said the shootings of unarmed civilians and medical workers were clear breaches of international law. It also said the military was stepping up repression of the media, with a growing number of journalists arrested.

'EVERYTHING WILL BE OK'

Save the Children said four children were killed on Wednesday including a 14-year-old boy who Radio Free Asia reported was shot dead by a soldier on a passing convoy of military trucks. The soldiers loaded his body onto a truck and left, according to the report.

Images of a 19-year-old woman, one of two shot dead in Mandalay, showed her wearing a T-shirt that read "Everything will be OK".

Police in Yangon ordered three medics out of an ambulance and beat them with gun butts and batons, video broadcast by US-funded Radio Free Asia showed. Reuters was unable to verify the video independently.

READ: 'How will they survive' - Myanmar coup cuts lifeline for migrants' families

Angel takes cover before being shot in the head in Mandalay — Protesters lie on the ground after police opened fire to disperse an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, Mar 3, 2021. Among them, Angel (bottom left), 19, also known as Kyal Sin, took cover before she was shot in the head. (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)

The military justified the coup by saying its complaints of voter fraud in the Nov. 8 vote were ignored. Suu Kyi's party won by a landslide, earning a second term.

The election commission said the vote was fair.

Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has pledged to hold new elections but given no time frame.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, has been held incommunicado since the coup but appeared at a court hearing via video conferencing this week and looked in good health, a lawyer said.

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2021-03-04 06:33:45Z
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Rabu, 03 Maret 2021

UN says 38 dead in Myanmar's 'bloodiest' day since coup - CNA

YANGON: At least 38 people died on Wednesday (Mar 3) in the "bloodiest" day of Myanmar's crisis, the United Nations said, as the military government defied growing international condemnation of its coup with a violent crackdown that the US said left it "appalled and revulsed".

Myanmar has been in turmoil since Feb 1 when the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the nation's decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking daily mass protests.

International pressure is mounting: Western powers have repeatedly hit the generals with sanctions, Britain has called for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, and after Wednesday's deaths the United States said it was considering further action.

But the military government has so far ignored the global condemnation, responding to the uprising with escalating strength.

"Only today, 38 people died," UN envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener told reporters on Wednesday, adding that more than 50 people had died in total since the military takeover, with many more wounded.

"Today was the bloodiest day since the coup happened," she noted, without providing any further details, including a breakdown of the deaths.

READ: Myanmar police use tear gas to break up protests as ousted president faces 2 new charges

She called for the UN to take "very strong measures" against the generals, adding that in her conversations with them they had dismissed the threat of sanctions.

"I will keep going on, we will not give up," she said.

The violence left the United States "appalled and revulsed", State Department spokesman Ned Price said, telling reporters: "We call on all countries to speak with one voice to condemn the brutal violence by the Burmese military against its own people."

He singled out China, a frequent US adversary that Myanmar's military has historically considered its main ally.

"China does have influence in the region. It does have influence with the military junta. We have called upon the Chinese to use that influence in a constructive way, in a way that advances the interests of the people of Burma," Price said.

And he said the United States, which has imposed sanctions on junta leaders, was looking at further actions.

'DEMOCRACY IS OUR CAUSE'

Earlier, AFP recorded at least 17 deaths across Myanmar on Wednesday, with Monywa in the central Sagaing region registering at least seven, according to a doctor.

READ: Row over who represents coup-hit Myanmar at UN

Multiple medics also said they saw two other individuals being dragged away by security forces, though they could not confirm if they had died.

On the outskirts of commercial hub Yangon at least six demonstrators died, according to a rescue worker and local journalist.

APTOPIX Myanmar — Anti-coup protesters run from teargas and charging riot police and soldiers in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Mar 3, 2021. (Photo: AP)

Parts of the city were transformed, with protesters using makeshift tyres and barbed wire barricades to block major roads.

Near the famed Sule pagoda intersection, protesters pasted print-outs of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing's face on the ground - a tactic aimed at slowing down security forces who will avoid standing on the portraits.

In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, two demonstrators were killed, a doctor confirmed to AFP, adding that one of the victims was 19 years old and was shot in the head.

Another 19-year-old protester died after being shot in Salin.

"They shouldn't have used such lethal force against the peaceful protesters," said his friend Min Pyae Phyo, through tears. "I won't forget and forgive them the rest of my life," he told AFP.

READ: 'How will they survive': Myanmar coup cuts lifeline for migrants' families

And a demonstration in Myingyan turned deadly when security forces fired against protesters carrying red home-made shields emblazoned with the three-finger salute - a symbol of resistance for the anti-coup movement.

Several medics confirmed a young man was gunned down.

Local media in northern Kachin state also reported similar scenes of violence.

In Dawei on Wednesday, one gunshot victim from Sunday, when 18 people were killed across the country, was cremated.

Mourners held floral wreaths and portraits of Lwin Lwin Oo, 33, as coffin bearers were flanked by hundreds chanting: "We are united, yes we are ... Democracy is our cause."

JOURNALISTS CHARGED

Wednesday's violence came on the heels of news that six Myanmar journalists would be charged under a law prohibiting "causing fear, spreading false news, or agitating directly or indirectly a government employee", according to their lawyer Tin Zar Oo.

Among them is Associated Press photographer Thein Zaw, who was arrested on Saturday as he covered an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon. Video emerged on Wednesday of him being held in a chokehold by police as he was handcuffed.

The other five are from Myanmar Now, Myanmar Photo Agency, 7Day News, Zee Kwet Online news and a freelancer. They face up to three years in jail.

The United States called for their release and was "forcefully making clear" that their detention was "unacceptable", Price said.

Burgener said that the generals had told her they would hold elections in "one year".

But she also said she had not been able to speak directly with the leaders since Feb 15, communicating only in writing since then.

She said she sent a "long letter" directly to the army's number two Soe Win on Sunday but had not yet heard back, though she did receive information from the army daily.

And she said she had not yet been granted permission to visit the country.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, more than 1,200 people have been arrested since the coup, with about 900 still behind bars or facing charges.

But the real number is likely far higher - state-run media reported more than 1,300 people were arrested on Sunday alone.

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2021-03-03 22:41:15Z
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Myanmar military coup: Security forces shoot nine protesters dead as tensions flare - CNA

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Myanmar military coup: Security forces shoot nine protesters dead as tensions flare CNAView Full coverage on Google News
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2021-03-03 12:53:34Z
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10 dead as Myanmar security forces fire at protesters - CNA

YANGON: At least 10 people were killed when Myanmar security forces fired on protesters on Wednesday (Mar 3) as multiple rallies across the country descended into violence.

Myanmar has been in uproar since Feb 1 when the military launched a coup and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the nation's decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking daily mass protests.

The country has been in chaos since Feb 1 when the military launched a coup and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending Myanmar's decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking daily mass protests.

International pressure is mounting - Western powers have repeatedly hit the generals with sanctions - and Britain has called for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday.

READ: Myanmar junta charges 6 journalists, including AP photographer

But the junta has ignored the global condemnation, responding to the uprising with escalating force, and security forces used lethal force on demonstrators again on Wednesday.

Protests at Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021 (4) — Police fire tear gas at protesters in Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

Protests at Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021 (5) — Police fire tear gas at protesters in Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

This comes after the junta hit half a dozen detained journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, with criminal charges that could see them spend up to three years in jail if convicted.

Three cities in central Myanmar saw bloody crackdowns on protesters by security forces on Wednesday, with Monywa in the Sagaing region registering the highest number of deaths with at least seven.

"What we can confirm is seven people have died," said an emergency doctor, who declined to provide his name.

Multiple medics also said they saw two other individuals being dragged away by security forces, though they could not get close enough to confirm if they had died.

In neighbouring Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, two demonstrators were killed, a doctor confirmed to AFP, adding that one of the victims was 19 years old and was shot in the head.

READ: Myanmar security forces fire live rounds at protesters

READ: Row over who represents coup-hit Myanmar at UN

A protest in the central city of Myingyan also turned violent, as security forces confronted protesters in hard hats crouching behind red home-made shields emblazoned with the three-finger salute - a symbol of resistance for the anti-coup movement.

"They fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds," a volunteer medic on the scene told AFP, adding that at least 10 people were injured.

Protests at Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021 — Protesters run away as police fire tear gas in Sanchaung, Yangon on Mar 3, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

Several medics confirmed a young man was gunned down.

"Zin Ko Ko Zaw, a 20-year-old, was shot dead on the spot," a rescue team member told AFP, adding that his team had treated 17 people from the protest.

Two rescue team members in north-western Monywa said they saw security forces taking away two individuals.

"DEMOCRACY IS OUR CAUSE"

Local media in northern Kachin state also reported similar scenes of violence, publishing images of police bearing down on protesters in Hpakant.

"Some were hit with rubber bullets and some were suffocating because of tear gas," a doctor told AFP, saying his private hospital treated 10 injured.

Two critically wounded people - one struck in the chest, the other in the neck - had to be driven to the state capital's hospital about four hours away.

Parts of commercial hub Yangon were transformed, with protesters using makeshift tyres and barbed wire barricades to block major roads.

In San Chaung township, which has been the site of intense clashes in recent days, tear gas and fire extinguisher clouds filled the streets as riot police confronted protesters.

READ: Southeast Asian nations urge halt to violence in Myanmar

There were also chaotic scenes at North Okkalapa - a civil society health clinic confirmed 19 injured people had arrived for medical treatment.

"Some got hit with rubber bullets, some fell down and some were beaten. We had to transfer one man to hospital for a operation because a rubber bullet hit his head. We do not have a surgeon here," an official told AFP.

Sunday was the bloodiest day since the military takeover, with the UN saying at least 18 protesters were killed across the country.

In Dawei on Wednesday, one of four gunshot victims from Sunday was cremated.

Mourners held floral wreaths and portraits of Lwin Lwin Oo, 33, as coffin bearers were flanked by hundreds chanting: "We are united, yes we are ... to get democracy is our cause".

Wednesday's violence came after the foreign ministers of Southeast Asian nations - including Myanmar's junta representative Wunna Maung Lwin - discussed the crisis at a virtual meeting.

After the talks Indonesia's Retno Marsudi expressed frustration over the junta's lack of cooperation.

Singapore - which is Myanmar's largest investor - condemned the authorities' use of lethal force, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong telling the BBC that it was "unacceptable".

READ: ASEAN must reiterate guiding principles when it comes to situation in Myanmar: Vivian Balakrishnan

READ: Myanmar military's use of lethal force 'disastrous', but sense can still prevail: PM Lee

JOURNALISTS CHARGED

AP photographer Thein Zaw, 32, was arrested on Saturday as he covered a demonstration in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon, his lawyer told AFP on Wednesday.

Thein Zw and five other Myanmar journalists had been charged under a law against "causing fear, spreading false news or agitating directly or indirectly a government employee", according to the lawyer, Tin Zar Oo.

The junta amended the law last month, to increase the maximum sentence from two years to three years in jail.

"Ko Thein Zaw was simply reporting in line with press freedom law - he wasn't protesting, he was just doing his work, the lawyer, Tin Zar Oo, said, adding that all six were being held at Insein prison in Yangon.

READ: Myanmar police free Japanese journalist after brief detention: Media

READ: Myanmar journalist arrested after overnight attack: Employer

The other five journalists are from Myanmar Now, Myanmar Photo Agency, 7Day News, Zee Kwet Online news and a freelancer, according to AP.

AP's vice-president of international news Ian Philips called for Thein Zaw's immediate release.

"Independent journalists must be allowed to freely and safely report the news without fear of retribution," he said.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, more than 1,200 people have been arrested since the coup, with about 900 still behind bars or facing charges.

But the real number is likely far higher - state-run media reported that on Sunday alone more than 1,300 people were arrested.

AAPP says that 34 journalists are among those detained, with 15 released so far.

The most recent confirmed arrest came on Monday, when a Myanmar journalist with broadcasting service Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) live-streamed a late-night raid on his home.

The footage - posted on DVB's Facebook page - appeared to show loud bangs outside his apartment building as he pleaded with authorities not to shoot.

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2021-03-03 12:33:45Z
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'How will they survive': Myanmar coup cuts lifeline for migrants' families - CNA

BANGKOK: Since arriving in Thailand a few years ago, Myanmar migrant worker Own Mar Shwe had been sending money home every month for her family to buy food and medicine.

That came to an abrupt halt last month.

Like millions of Myanmar migrants who work abroad and send their earnings back home to dependants, the Feb 1 coup has cut a lifeline for her family with bank and remittance services heavily disrupted.

"I'm concerned about how (my family) will get through each day," Own Mar Shwe, 41, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Samut Sakhon, a Thai seafood hub south of the capital Bangkok.

She usually sends 6,000 baht (US$200) a month from working at a shrimp market, paying a broker who uses Wave Money - a digital payment service - to transfer the money to convenience stores in Myanmar where her relatives pick up the payments.

READ: 7 dead as Myanmar security forces fire at protesters

She has not been able to do so since the military ousted the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi a month ago, imposing internet curbs and prompting mass street protests as well as workers' strikes across Myanmar.

"I don't know what to do," said the mother-of-three, expressing worries for her 76-year-old mother who is sick and relies on her income to buy medicine.

More than 4 million Myanmar migrants - from a population of about 54 million - work overseas in industries ranging from manufacturing, agriculture to domestic work, United Nations data shows. Their top two destinations are Thailand and Malaysia.

Many of them are the breadwinners for their families, sending back remittances that amounted to US$2.4 billion in 2019, or more than 3 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, World Bank figures show.

READ: Myanmar junta charges 6 journalists, including AP photographer

DISRUPTIONS

Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied across Myanmar since the coup, with at least 31 people killed.

Many businesses have been closing to show support for the anti-coup movement or allowing their employees to attend protests during work hours.

Bank services are irregular, with some branches closed, others reducing operations and limiting withdrawals.

Myanmar coup Yangon protests Feb 25 (9) — Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 25, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)

The disruptions have led to a number of banks and financial firms abroad temporarily suspending their money transfer services to Myanmar or advising clients to put the transfer plan on hold, citing potential delays.

A check with a branch of Thailand's Kasikornbank in Bangkok, as well as the Western Union and International Money Transfer outlets in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, confirmed this. Another Thai bank, Siam Commercial Bank, said its transfer service is still up and running.

Western Union, the world's largest money transfer firm, has said it "cannot provide a definitive timeframe" on when its transfer service to Myanmar might resume, according to a post on its website on Feb 19.

"Remittances are hugely important to keep families going in countries of origin," said Nicola Piper, a professor of international migration now at the Queen Mary University of London, who studies Asia labour migration.

"The current situation, ie the combined COVID-19 and political crisis, would most likely have a huge impact on the livelihoods of families left behind."

READ: Myanmar security forces fire live rounds at protesters

READ: Row over who represents coup-hit Myanmar at UN

PRESSURE

Even before the current political turmoil, COVID-19 has had an "acute effect" on the livelihoods of Myanmar's migrants and their families, with millions suffering job losses and reduced income, according to a UN report last year.

Benjamin Harkins, a UN official in Myanmar, said the popularity of using informal channels to send money among Myanmar migrants could provide some cushioning to the temporary closure of formal financial institutions.

Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Feb 22 (2) — Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 22, 2021. (Photos: Naung Kham)

Such channels are done through a trust-based money transfer network, known as hundi or hawala, run by unlicensed financial brokers, and could push Myanmar's remittances closer to US$10 billion if these informal flows are included, he added.

Harkins said remittances would become even more important for livelihoods after the coup as the prospects of foreign firms reconsidering their investments in Myanmar is likely to have a "negative impact" on the local job market.

"Moreover, regular channels for labour migration to key destination countries such as Thailand and Malaysia remain closed due to COVID-19," said Harkins, the senior programme manager at the UN's Livelihoods and Food Security Fund in Yangon.

"That could create a situation where the need for remittances are greater than migrant workers are able to fulfil, contributing to an increase in poverty for the affected households and intense pressure on migrants to provide for their families."

READ: Southeast Asian nations urge halt to violence in Myanmar

For Ko Nai Ling, who arrived in Malaysia in 2013 from his village in Myanmar to find a better paying job to support his two families from separate marriages, all he hopes is that he can send money again soon.

He has barely been able to communicate with his family since the coup as access to Facebook, used by half of Myanmar's population, remains restricted.

"I am very worried because I am the only person providing for them," said Ko Nai Ling, 33, who used to send home up to RM1,200 (US$300) a month from working at a car wash. If I can't send money, I don't know how they will survive."

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7 dead as Myanmar security forces fire at protesters - CNA

YANGON: At least seven people were killed as Myanmar security forces fired on protesters on Wednesday (Mar 3), medics say.

This comes after the junta hit half a dozen detained journalists, including an Associated Press photographer, with criminal charges.

International pressure is mounting - Western powers have repeatedly hit the generals with sanctions - and Britain has called for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday.

READ: Myanmar junta charges 6 journalists, including AP photographer

But the junta has ignored the global condemnation, responding to the uprising with escalating force, and security forces used lethal force on demonstrators again on Wednesday.

Four people were shot dead during a protest in a city in central Myanmar, according to medics who spoke to AFP by phone.

Another two demonstrators died about two hours' drive away in Mandalay, the nation's second biggest city, medics told AFP.

One of the victims in Mandalay was shot in the head and the other in the chest, according to a doctor, who asked not to be named.

READ: Myanmar security forces fire live rounds at protesters

READ: Row over who represents coup-hit Myanmar at UN

"They fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds," a volunteer medic on the scene told AFP, adding that at least 10 people were injured.

Thet Thet Swe, from Myingyan rescue clinic, confirmed a young man was shot in the head and died.

"Zin Ko Ko Zaw, a 20-year-old was shot dead on the spot and my team treated 17 injured people," a second rescue team member told AFP.

Two rescue team members in north-western Monywa said they saw security forces taking away two individuals.

"DEMOCRACY IS OUR CAUSE"

Demonstrations also continued across Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, on Wednesday, with protesters using makeshift tyre and barbed wire barricades to block major roads and slow the police.

In downtown Pansodan Road, near the famed Sule pagoda intersection, protesters pasted print-outs of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing's face on the ground - a tactic aimed at slowing down security forces who will avoid standing on the portraits.