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In Face of Deadly Crackdown by Myanmar's Junta, Civil Disobedience Movement
Carries On

VOA News

   Anti-coup protests broke out again across Myanmar early Monday as
   popular acts of defiance against the military juntacontinuedespite the
   regime's violent and increasingly deadly pushback.

   Hundreds of demonstrators marchedalonga main road in Mandalay before
   dawn, many of them doctors, nurses,studentsand other medical personnel
   wearing white coats, repeating a similar demonstration carried out the
   night before.

   Scores of motorists in the commercial capital of Yangon honked their
   car horns in response to a call on social media, according to Reuters.

   Myanmar has been in turmoil ever sincethemilitary jailed de facto
   leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of thedemocratically
   electedcivilian government on February 1.At least three people were
   killed Sunday in violent clashes between police and civilians,
   including two in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city and a major
   hub of opposition.

   An activist group, theAssistance Association for Political Prisoners,
   saidnearly 250people have been killed since the coup, with more than
   2,000 people detained.

   Australian authorities confirmed Sunday that two of its
   citizens,businesspeople, were detained in Myanmar. Australia's
   government declined toprovidefurther details, citing the privacy of the
   concerned parties.

   Singapore'sForeign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit Brunei
   Darussalam on Monday before going to Malaysia and Indonesia as part of
   a regional diplomatic push to bring an end to the crisis in Myanmar,
   Reuters reported.
   Firecrackers explode as protestors take cover behind a barricade during
   a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay, March 21, 2021.

   On Monday, theEuropean Union's (EU) foreign policy chiefJosepBorrellwho
   is in Brussels for EU foreign ministers meetingsaid the EU will impose
   sanctionsinconnection with the violence."We are going to take sanctions
   against 11 persons involved in the coup and the repression of
   thedemonstrators."

   TheUnited Nations'¯Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly
   condemned the continuing brutality of the Myanmar military, after'¯at
   least eight anti-coup demonstrators were'¯killed in the'¯central town
   of'¯Aungban'¯in eastern Shan state.

   "The killing of peaceful demonstrators and arbitrary arrests, including
   of journalists, is utterly unacceptable," Guterres'spokesmanStephane
   Dujarric told reportersFriday. "The military continues to defy calls,
   including by the [U.N.] Security Council, to end violations of
   fundamental human rights and return to the path of democracy."

   He said that a firm, unified international response is urgently needed.

   "The secretary-general will continue to stand with the people
   and'¯their aspirations to achieve a peaceful, stable and prosperous
   Myanmar," Dujarric added.

   VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report.

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