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Thousands of protesters launched a “silent attack” on December 10 amid the repression of the Myanmar-led Army after the coup on February 1. Instead of taking to the streets, the population stayed in their homes to show resistance. The new form of protest follows several violent incidents involving the security forces.
The so-called “silent strike” left the streets of Myanmar deserted this Friday, December 10, and paralyzed activities throughout the country.
Thousands of residents joined the call of activist groups who urged to close businesses and isolate themselves in homes in protest of the new attacks by the military who took power by force on February 1 and are keeping the country’s leader in detention. Aung San Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint.
“Silent Strike” in capital Naypyitaw
Roads and markets are seen empty in capital Naypyitaw on Friday morning as residents take part in the nationwide “Silent Strike” on International Human Rights Day. (Photos- CJ) pic.twitter.com/RfldUuUiSj
– Myanmar Now (@Myanmar_Now_Eng) December 10, 2021
In the northern town of Shwebo, protesters wore black clothes and left without uttering a single word, a clear defiance of citizens who call it a “silent attack” on the Army.
“Silence is the loudest cry. We want to regain our rights. We want the revolution. We express sadness for our fallen heroes (…) We need to send a message to the world about the terrible human rights violations in Myanmar,” the leader of the protest, Khin Sandar.
For his part, the student leader and activist of the protest group General Strikes Collaboration Body, Minn Khant Kyaw Linn, said that participation in the “silent strike” was extensive. “You can see how much people hate the military junta,” he added.
They accuse the military of murdering and burning 11 people
The unprecedented demonstration, which coincided with International Human Rights Day, came after the Tuesday, December 7 last was registered a slaughter whose images were widely reported by witnesses on social networks.
A video showed the charred bodies of 11 people who were allegedly arrested and burned alive in a Done Taw village in the Sagaing region, fueling the anger of the population this week.
The crime was carried out in retaliation for the attack on an Army convoy.
The UN rights chief is “appalled” on Myanmar: “In the last week alone, security forces have killed and burned to death 11 people – among them five minors – and rammed vehicles into protesters exercising their fundamental right to peaceful assembly.” https://t.co/ExKSixpaW7 pic.twitter.com/o7XhC8P7GO
– Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) December 10, 2021
The military Junta categorically rejected that its soldiers were involved, while carrying out an offensive in the northwest of the country against the resistance of opposition militias.
The repression of the uniformed men has been widely reported for months by witnesses and some international media, which have also seen a wave of arrests against local and foreign reporters.
Among the most recent acts of cruelty, last Sunday, five people were killed and at least 15 were arrested after soldiers used a car to crash into a protesting crowd in the city of Yangon, the nation’s largest city.
UN denounces unprecedented repression and Burmese junta alleges “conspiracy”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for Human Rights denounced the “escalation of serious abuses” and highlighted the massacre this week in the Sagaing region. He claimed that five of the 11 victims were minors.
The organization directly targeted the security forces as responsible for those killings.
The military authorities assured that it is a “conspiracy” against him and the state press reported that the images of the violent scene were altered to blame the Army.
The media run by the military often dismiss this type of complaint, calling it “disinformation.”
But UN agency spokesman Rupert Colville said the human rights situation in the country has worsened on an unprecedented scale.
Colville noted that his office receives daily complaints of murders, torture, trials without judicial guarantees or censorship, among other crimes of which the Burmese military are accused.
Security forces seeking to retain power have murdered more than 1,300 people since the recent coup, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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