On Thursday, Myanmar's military opened fire on protesting healthcare staff, killing at least one bystander as protesters ran to a nearby mosque for cover. The nation has been in turmoil since the military took over from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, sparking a huge insurgency that the junta has attempted to put down with deadly force.
Myanmar opens fire on protesting health workers
However, the uprising has not been stifled, and demonstrators have retaken the streets this week, refusing to celebrate Myanmar's Thingyan New Year. A protest by medical workers in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest district, turned violent on Thursday when soldiers opened fire at them, sending them fleeing to the mosque.
"They were firing everywhere... they were attacking the Sule mosque compound because demonstrators were hiding there," an eyewitness stated. A doctor who treated the injured said that a 30-year-old man who lived in the compound was shot dead, and at least two others were wounded.
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According to a medic who took part in the rally during the crackdown, six nurses and physicians were arrested. "We have lost touch with several members of the medical staff," he told AFP. Healthcare employees in Myanmar have been at the frontline of a national civil disobedience movement, refusing to return to work under a military government that has left the country's hospitals understaffed amid a pandemic.
Civil servants from other industries have followed suit, effectively shutting down the country's banks, schools, highways, and businesses. The junta has attempted to compel civilians to return to work. State-run media announced on Thursday that at least 20 doctors involved in the campaign would be charged with trying to "weaken peace and security."
A local monitoring group said more than 700 people were killed, and more than 3,000 have been arrested due to the anti-coup protests. A well-known protest leader was arrested Thursday in central Monywa district, where he was riding his motorcycle and leading a demonstration when he was hit by a car. Since the coup, the leader has risen to prominence, shepherding the movement in the isolated Sagaing area amid several lethal crackdowns by authorities.
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Myanmar charges doctors over civil disobedience
According to a state-run newspaper, Myanmar's governing junta has charged at least 19 medical doctors in civil disobedience demonstrations against the military's February 1 coup. Doctors, nurses, and medical students also marched and joined strikes in protest of Myanmar's military takeover, which deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's newly elected government and halted the country's move toward democratization following five decades of military rule.
Myanmar's Global New Light newspaper said the doctors are suspected of endorsing and engaging in civil disobedience "with the aim of deteriorating the state administrative machinery." On charges of sharing knowledge that threatens the country's security and the rule of law, the military government has also released arrest warrants for 100 people working in the fields of literature, film, theater arts, music, and journalism.
It is not the first time that doctors have been called out, Khaosod English reported. Security forces used stun grenades and fired weapons to break up a march by medical staff protesting the army's takeover earlier this month in Mandalay. Thingyan, Myanmar's annual New Year festival, takes place this week. Instead of celebrating, many people are continuing to protest against the military takeover, claiming that Mandalay's security forces have opened fire at opposing medical personnel, as per DW.com.
