Myanmar’s military kills 114 citizens including 4 children on Saturday

Myanmar’s military opened fire on protesters on Saturday, killing 114 people, and recorded the bloodiest day since the coup on February 1. The military is heavily criticized for its atrocity as four of the dead citizens are aged between five to 15. According to the country’s news outlet the Irrawaddy, the number of deaths since the coup is as many as 450, among which more than 20 are underaged. 　

The military put down the protests throughout the country with serious bloodshed on Saturday, the annual “Armed Forces Day.” The local news media Myanmar Now reported that the police and soldiers killed 114 citizens in more than 40 cities across the country in just a day. The police fired indiscriminately to the protesters who were demanding to free prisoners arrested a day before and killed eight in Dala village, south to Yangon. Kyaw Win, the founder and Executive Director of a civic group “Burma Human Rights Network,” said to BBC, “It's a massacre, it's not a crackdown anymore.” 　

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing who carried out the coup led public indignation by giving a largely irrelevant speech in the capital city Naypyidaw even as the citizens were massacred. He pledged that the military would protect the people and strive for democracy at an event celebrating the Armed Forces Day. On that day, eight countries including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand sent an envoy to the military. China and Russia have not taken part in criticizing the country about the massacre.


Jong-Yeob JO jjj@donga.com