14th March 2021
This is the British reaction to the actions of the authorities today. (Nothing heard from New Zealand). The Embassy is on Strand Road in downtown Yangon and the Residence is near the main railway station, so they are well placed to observe what is going on in the commercial district. Hlaing Thar Yar is an industrial district in West Yangon and is home to many factories, including foreign-owned garment premises. The latest number of deaths today in Hlaing Thar Yar is 18 of which 10 were headshots. Unconfirmed reports put the number of deaths nationally at 30+.
The latest report just in from the Irrawaddy puts the death toll at 38 and rising.
Myanmar saw another record-breaking day of protest-related deaths on Sunday as more than 39 anti-regime protesters were killed across the country by security forces, pushing the total death toll since the coup was launched last month to 134.
The last time the Southeast Asian country experienced its bloodiest day was March 3, when 28 people slain by soldiers and police across the country while taking to the streets for their anti-junta activism.
In a series of deadly crackdowns on Sunday on sit-in protests against the regime in Yangon’s western Hlaing Thar Yar Township, security forces used live rounds, tear gas and stun grenades to attack anti-regime protesters. Security forces opened gunfire from 9:30 a.m. to late evening.
During the crackdowns, 18 protestors were shot dead, and several others were wounded, a doctor who cared for the injured at a township hospital said on her Facebook page Sunday evening.
She said that one out of two protesters who were shot in the head is in critical condition.
The death toll is expected to climb higher as some were seriously wounded during the police shooting.
Source the Irrawaddy 14th March 2021.
Meanwhile, factories have been set ablaze in Hlaing Thar Yar and it is uncertain whether this is in response to the Military action, or the Military action is revenge for the factory blazes.
Fire broke out at two garment factories owned by Chinese and Taiwanese investors Sunday afternoon in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone in Yangon as the military regime’s security forces launched yet another deadly crackdown on anti-coup protesters in the area.
According to an industrial zone official, the two factories were Global Fashion, a garment factory backed by Chinese investors, and Tsang Yih, one of the largest foreign-owned shoe factories in Myanmar operated by Taiwanese investors.
Myanmar’s government investment agency, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA)’s records reveal that Global Fashion is jointly owned by four Chinese investors and a Myanmar citizen. It was registered in 2018 in Myanmar.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said that many Chinese-owned factories in the Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone were looted and burned by criminals on Sunday afternoon, according to the Paukphaw, Chinese-funded media.
The spokesperson said that many Chinese personnel were injured, and some employees were trapped for a while by the fires.
The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar discussed the issue with the Myanmar Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce and also immediately asked local police to take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese companies and personnel, an official statement said.
The embassy spokesperson said, “China requires Myanmar to take further effective measures to stop all violent acts, investigate and deal with relevant perpetrators in accordance with the law, and ensure the safety of the lives and property of Chinese enterprises and personnel in Myanmar.”
Source the Irrawaddy 14th March 2021
This is what the locals have been warning China may happen. There is some doubt as to the identity of the perpetrators. The Chinese claim that it was the protesters, the protesters claim that it was agents provocateur and they were trying to extinguish the flames. Whoever caused the fires, it is just a matter of time before direct action is taken by the protesters and/or the EAOs.
In Thamwe police continue their raids at night and they appear to be searching for “lost” firearms and munitions. This raises interesting questions as to how they got lost.
The latest report before the internet shutdown puts the fatalities at 66 in Yangon.
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