Two weeks ago, on this same channel, you spoke to us about the military coup in Burma which halted the democratization process in place.
Yes, the Burmese military coup has abruptly interrupted the democratization process, and for over a month now, the peaceful struggle waged by the people has been opposing the lightning and violence of the military power. In the evening, thousands of people bang on pots and anything that can make noise to chase away evil spirits and demons. Messages of mobilization are circulating on social networks, a video posted on Youtube calls for the return of democracy and peace.
How do the military react to power?
They are increasingly deploying force and violence. More than 1,700 people have been arrested since the putsch, including about 30 journalists. Civil servants who go on strike will be fired; calls for strikes are undermining the regime.
The most dramatic is the bloody repression: there have been images of security forces firing live ammunition at peaceful gatherings and carrying away the lifeless bodies of protesters. The military state wants to cover up its bloody atrocities.
More than 55 people have been killed since the start of the peaceful uprising against the coup. Unfortunately, the UN remains divided to this day, and unable to respond to the “desperate calls” of the population.
There remains prayer.
Yes, we can continue to pray for the Burmese people. On February 28, one of the bloodiest days with 24 people killed (according to reliable sources in Myanmar), including an unborn baby, Ann Nu Thawng, a nun of the Xavier Sisters heard gunshots and screams. She decided to leave her convent and stand in the street, facing the armed soldiers: "I saw," she said*, "young people fleeing from bullets and being chased by soldiers. I am old enough to know the reality of dictatorship, so I knelt down and shouted 'you can kill me but don't shoot young people anymore'." The soldiers stopped, helpless. According to Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the nun's courage saved about a hundred demonstrators who were hiding in the church compound in Mytkina, which also locally houses the Fondacio mission. The image of this kneeling sister has gone around the world.
Sister Anne Nu Tjawng concludes: "As a nun, I pray with my sisters for the return of peace to our country. But as a citizen, I know that prayer is not enough and that action is needed."
* see interview conducted by Paul Sugy
No responses yet