%20(3).png){kind=small}
![TFD [LOGO] (10).png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bea252_c1775b2fb69c4411abe5f0d27e15b130~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_150,y_143,w_1221,h_1193/fill/w_179,h_176,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/TFD%20%5BLOGO%5D%20(10).png)
MYANMAR JUNTA BLAMES VICTIMS FOR BLOODSHED IN PROTESTS VS COUP
- By The Financial District
- Mar 24, 2021
- 2 min read
Myanmar’s military accused anti-junta protesters of arson and violence as Western countries imposed more sanctions on individuals and groups linked to last month’s coup and the ensuing bloody crackdown on dissent, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said 164 protesters had been killed in the violence and expressed sadness at the deaths. “They are also our citizens,” he told a news conference in the capital Naypyitaw on Tuesday, adding that the military would use the least force possible to quell violence.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group says at least 261 people have been killed in the brutal crackdown by security forces that has left the Southeast Asian nation in turmoil.
Three people including a teenage boy were killed in unrest on Monday in Myanmar’s second city, Mandalay, witnesses and news reports said.
The junta has tried to justify the coup by saying a Nov. 8 election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was fraudulent - an accusation the electoral commission rejected.
Military leaders have promised a new election but have not set a date and have declared a state of emergency. Zaw Min Tun blamed protesters for violence and arson and said nine members of the security forces had been killed. “Can we call these peaceful protesters?” he said while showing a video of factories on fire.
“Which country or organization would regard this violence as peaceful?” He said strikes and hospitals not fully operating had caused deaths, including from COVID-19, calling them “undutiful and unethical” even as rebels in Myanmar’s Rakhine state join other minorities in condemning the junta.
The spokesman also accused the media of “fake news” and fanning unrest and said reporters could be prosecuted if they were in contact with the CRPH, as the remnants of Suu Kyi’s government are known locally. The military has declared the CRPH an illegal organization and said membership is punishable by death.
