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A PROTESTER was left fighting for her life today after police launched a major clampdown on demonstrations against the military coup in Myanmar.
The woman was reportedly shot in the head during a protest in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, where police used water cannon, rubber bullets and live rounds in a bid to disperse crowds.
The wound was consistent with that of live ammunition, rights groups said.
Today marked a fifth consecutive day of protests, with civil servants from the energy ministry walking out in the capital and demonstrations taking place in most other towns and cities.
“We cannot stay quiet,” youth leader Esther Ze Naw said. “If there is blood shed during our peaceful protests, then there will be more if we let them take over the country.”
Health workers, dressed in green hospital gowns and wearing face masks, joined protests in Karen State’s Myawaddy Township to denounce the military’s power grab.
It began in the early hours of last Monday, when the army rounded up senior National League for Democracy (NLD) figures including leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Many remain under house arrest, while the junta has imposed a year-long state of emergency.
It justified the move by citing unfounded allegations of electoral fraud in last November’s poll, which the NLD won by a landslide.
On Tuesday night the military raided the Yangon headquarters of the NLD, forcing their way into the building after dark.
A party statement confirmed that “the military dictator raided and destroyed NLD headquarters” at about 9.30pm local time.
The coup has been widely condemned by the international community, with New Zealand among the first to officially sever ties with country.
The UN Human Rights Council is set to discuss the situation when it meets for a special session tomorrow.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price warned that those responsible for violence against protesters would face consequences.
“All individuals in Burma have rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, including for the purposes of peaceful protest,” he said — using Myanmar’s former name.
