Myanmar junta ‘sad’ at protest deaths

Myanmar's military yesterday said it was sad about people killed in its brutal crackdown on anti-coup protests, but vowed to press ahead with stamping out what it called "anarchy".

The junta has unleashed deadly violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the February 1 ousting of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In a news conference in the capital Naypyidaw, junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun put the death toll lower at 164.

"I am sad because these violent terrorist people who died are our nationals," he said.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group said at least 261 people have been killed in the brutal crackdown by security forces.

The streets of towns and cities across the country have seen chaotic scenes for weeks as security forces clash with protesters demanding the restoration of democracy and the release of Suu Kyi.

The authorities have used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse protests, prompting a senior UN rights expert to warn they may be committing "crimes against humanity".

But despite widespread international condemnation, Zaw Min Tun defended the response, saying that the security forces were dealing with "insurgents holding weapons" and five police and four soldiers had been killed.

"We have to crack down on the anarchy. Which countries in the world accept anarchy?" he said.

Despite the bloodshed, protesters took to the streets again yesterday, staging dawn demonstrations in parts of the commercial capital Yangon.

A seven-year-old girl killed in shooting in Mandalay city, a funeral service said.

As well as breaking up protests, the military has sought to stem the flow of news about the crackdown, banning several local media outlets and arresting dozens of journalists.

Mobile data networks are suspended and Zaw Min Tun said there were presently no plans to restore them.

Suu Kyi, not seen in public since being detained on February 1, is facing several criminal charges as well as allegations of accepting illegal payments of gold and cash.

Sean Turnell, an Australian adviser to the 75-year-old Nobel laureate, is being investigated under immigration and state secrets laws, the junta spokesman announced yesterday.

Turnell, an economist and university professor, was the first foreign national arrested following the coup, reports AFP.

The Australian embassy yesterday warned its citizens to prepare to "shelter in place" with essential supplies, while Myanmar's former colonial ruler Britain has already advised its nationals to get out.

Neighbouring Thailand is bracing for a possible influx of tens of thousands of refugees if the situation worsens.

Meanwhile, the Arakan Army (AA), a major ethnic militia in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state, yesterday joined other ethnic groups in condemning last month's military coup and the ensuing violent crackdown on protesters.

While several other armed groups fighting long-running wars in Myanmar's borderlands have signalled their support for pro-democracy protests, the AA, which had agreed a ceasefire with the government ousted on February 1, had not commented publicly, reports Reuters.

"It is a great sadness that innocent people are being shot and killed all over Myanmar," AA spokesman Khine Thu Kha said in a message, adding that the group was "together ... with the people".

"The current actions by the Burmese army and police are very cruel and unacceptable," he said.

He said the AA would "continue to go forward for the oppressed Rakhine people" and that "the oppressed ethnic people as a whole will continue to fight for their freedom from oppression".

On Sunday, civil society groups based in Rakhine demanded the junta "abandon the coup and accept the federal democratic system, based on self-administration, that is desired by the people".