February 19 – On Friday morning, news broke that Britain and Canada had imposed sanctions on the military top brass now running Myanmar, including on Senior General Min Aung Hlaing himself.
Foreign affairs ministers from the US, India, Australia and Japan jointly announced that Myanmar must return to the democratic progress as soon as possible. Norway also announced its decision suspend assistance to Myanmar.
China, via the Global Times, calls the anti-China sentiment “manipulation by the west”, stating that “for a long time, the west and some anti-China forces have been trying to make use of Myanmar.” This comes after yet another declaration by China yesterday that the Myanmar situation should be settled lawfully and that China does not want to see political turmoil resulting from the coup.
Whether or not the sanctions and the statements will help, the people of Myanmar have bigger things to worry about. Early in the morning, Myitkyina saw further brutal crackdowns on peaceful protestors. Two teachers and at least 10 others were beaten and forcefully detained by the police in front of the Myitkyina Education College and near the local clock tower.
Journalists at the scene were threatened and told to stoprecording or filming, with some even being shot at with slingshots. Currently, 14 people, including two female teachers,have been released as the Peace Creation Group mediated their release.
Win Htein, an influential NLD patron, was arrested and charged with sedition, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 yearson conviction. He was put on trial today, via video conference,in Nay Pyi Taw. Notably, the plaintiff requested that Win Htein be sentenced immediately by the court.
Mya Thwe Khine, the girl who was shot in the head and who was declared brain dead, officially passed away today and her body was transferred to the morgue from the hospital in Nay Pyi Taw. Protesters around the country held ceremonies to honour her life and mourn her death.
Throughout the day, the military and police continued to arrest protestors, especially student activists and CDM participants. Even after curfew time in Yangon, local residents in places like Tamwe Township gathered as police were seen assembling. Both sides decided to back off without any confrontation.
In Pakokku, the arrest of two students from the Students Union prompted a rapid gathering of local residents to protest in front of the police station. This started at 8:30pm and by midnight no further news had broken on the situation.
Notably, the soldier that joined the protests in Monywa hasresurfaced. This time, the military’s True News Information Team uploaded a video of the soldier claiming that he only joined the civilians because he was “tricked”. This causedfurther anger towards the military. Some believe that the move was dissuade any other soldiers from crossing sides in the future.
Internet connections are now being cut by 1am.
by David Tun