Posted on 03/22/2021 7:13:19 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military has extended martial law to broader sections of Yangon after the deaths of dozens of protesters in the city's garment production hub, where several Chinese factories have suffered arson attacks.
The military announced Monday that it is expanding martial law to six districts in the country's most populous city, meaning that the armed forces and not the police will maintain public order in the designated areas. This comes after some of the worst bloodshed since the Feb. 1 coup occurred over the weekend.
Signs point to continued violence ahead, with an opposition group telling citizens they have the right to defend themselves against "unlawful" actions by the armed forces.
At least 38 people were killed Sunday during protests against the military's power grab, the Myanmar-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reports. This ties the highest single-day death toll since the elected government of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted, and brings the total number of deaths to over 120.
Sunday's declaration of martial law, which the military says was a response to vandals blocking access by fire crews, marks a new phase in the coup. Mobile internet connections also were blocked for the first time during daylight hours on Monday.
The United Nations secretary-general's special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, condemned the violence, saying "the military defies international calls, including from the Security Council, for restraint, dialogue and full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms."
Japan's Fast Retailing, the parent of clothing chain Uniqlo, said Monday that some of its supplier plants are experiencing production delays. Fast Retailing has six suppliers in Myanmar, with five of them located in Yangon. Roughly 400 Japanese companies have operations in Myanmar.
Many of the protester deaths occurred in Hlaingthaya Township, a hub of garment production in Yangon's northwest. According to reports, 22 people were killed there Sunday and over 20 injured. Unconfirmed video posted on social media shows soldiers and police opening fire from a bridge in Hlaingthaya, in scenes that the AAPP described as a virtual war zone.
Fires broke out Sunday at garment factories, some Chinese-owned, in Hlaingthaya and Shwepyitha townships on the outskirts of Yangon, the country's commercial capital. The damage deals another blow to an important driver of Myanmar's economy.
Multiple Chinese factories suffered arson attacks and looting, Beijing's embassy in Myanmar said Sunday. The Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Global Times said Monday in a Twitter post that 32 Chinese-invested factories were attacked, leaving two people injured. Property losses totaled 240 million yuan ($37 million), according to the tweet, which cites the Chinese Embassy.
The cause of the factory fires was not immediately clear, but the military blamed them on arson attacks by protesters. Speculation that the military enjoys support from China has stoked anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters on Monday that China hopes "the relevant parties in Myanmar will keep calm and exercise restraint, act in the fundamental interests of the people, address their differences through dialogue and consultation within the constitutional and legal framework and continue to advance the democratic transition."
"China will continue to urge Myanmar to take practical measures to stop all violent behaviors and hold the culprits accountable and ensure the safety of life and property of Chinese businesses and personnel in Myanmar," Zhao said.
The Committee for Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consisting of parliamentarians from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy on Sunday affirmed citizens' right to self-defense.
"The people have the full right to defend themselves or others according to the law if [the] unlawful military coup council or their chain of command have issued orders to the armed organizations, which are no longer" civil servants, the committee said in a statement issued on Facebook.
A video hearing had been set for Monday in Suu Kyi's arrest on a growing list of charges, but her lawyer said it was canceled due to an internet outage.
It must be white supremacists attacking Asians.
So far I’ve been on board with the Myanmar coup, but if the military junta is in bed with China’s Belt and Road initiative then a pox on all their houses.
Tough crap, the government there won’t buckle to Biden doing a cheap imitation of Skunk Cabbage’s Arab Spring.
I still respect the fact the new government kicked Soros out of the country.
Its CIA globo-homo vs. the Chinese Empire
Maybe they both can lose.
Chinese boss: Why we letting workers see BLM comrades on CNN? Knew would be bringing large troubles. Go back to fearless Mao inspires with leadership to China master race domination of world?
Bkmk
I guess it's like Superman vs. Batman or King Kong vs. Godzilla. Do I really care who wins?
The Chinese are becoming scrutable.
:^)
If others know what is it.
We’re about to see if China can control burgeoning insurrection in its outlying, emerging little empire.
They’ll be flummoxed. As baffled as the Saudis vs Houthis.
They haven’t really practiced this yet.
We should be sending cargo ships with explosives to a few nearby harbors to speed this up
“So far I’ve been on board with the Myanmar coup, but if the military junta is in bed with China’s Belt and Road initiative then a pox on all their houses.”
Of course it is.
Burmese people are standing up to their deep state coup and they don’t even have the right to bear arms.
I realize a lot of people don’t know which end is up in Myanmar, but it’s painful to hear people saying they support the military coup. The Tatmadaw (Burmese military) have been vicious, lawless, oppressive murderers for decades. Start researching about the plight of all the non-Burman tribes around the frontiers of Burma, the genocide of the Rohingya, and you’ll realize the military there is very, very evil. The claims of election fraud are absolute bunk.
My organization works with children’s homes across southeast Asia but around 80% of them are in Myanmar or on the borders. Because that’s where the orphans are. Because the military keeps slaughtering their parents. I have a staff member in Yangon, a young Karen mother, whom I’ve barely heard from since the coup. Missionaries along the Thai border are reporting increased attacks and terror against the tribals by the military, as are the Free Burma Rangers.
Speaking of which, here is a link to help orient people on this subject:
https://www.freeburmarangers.org/category/reports/
Thank you.. for your post and your care for the orphans. Picking sides without facts is always a bad idea. Thats how we end up w a bunch of mitt Romneys in congress.
Welcome to FR and thanks for your input.
But the CCP does not get a free hand.
this is DS just letting us know what will happen when the military reinstalls the proper real president...
Friend (father of the family) passed in 2015.
Was in WII over 40 missions over Burma , tail gunner 434th Bomber squad.
Siding with the military junta is siding with the CCP, as this article makes plain. As I said, too many people don’t know which end is up.
(When the coup hit I assumed it was because the strong anti-military election results meant they felt threatened; the military will never willingly give up power because of the war crime trials that are sure to come if they lose the control they effectively retained even during the “democratic” period of recent years. My boss said from the start he thought the coup was mostly due to Chinese CCP influence. More and more evidence has come in since then to indicate he’s probably right.)
I don’t see anyone “supporting the coup” - nor claiming to fully understand what’s happening there
I see people noting that neither side appears to be pure, and both sides are supported by outside great-power players who probably are seeking their own advantage.
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