Myanmar Residents Hold Vigil Following Deadliest Day of Protests Since Coup Began

Residents of Yangon lit candles and sang a rendition of Kansas’s Dust in the Wind at a vigil on March 1, following a crackdown by police that left at least 18 people dead, according to the United Nations.

Mass arrests were also reported on February 28, and attacks on the press. The AP said on March 1 that one of its journalists had been arrested.

Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were charged with incitement on March 1, Myanmar Now reported.

Footage here was shared by a Yangon resident who requested anonymity, and shows residents of Ahlon Township gathered on Monday evening.

A Myanmar court on Monday brought additional charges against detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi that could keep her behind bars for an even longer period of time, according to lawyers for her and her party.

The new charges came as the Southeast Asian country saw its deadliest day of protests since the Feb. 1 coup on Sunday, with the United Nations saying at least 18 protesters were killed in a stark escalation of violence to quell persistent demonstrations against military rule.

Suu Kyi, who is among more than 1,000 people detained since the Feb. 1 coup, is already facing six years in prison on charges of illegally importing walkie-talkies and for breaching the Natural Disaster Management Law. The additional charges added Monday include incitement under section 505(b) of the country’s penal code used by the authorities to criminalize speech “likely to cause fear or alarm in the public,” her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said.

The court also added another charge under the telecommunications law for owning equipment without the requisite licenses, Myanmar Now reported, citing lawyer Min Min Soe, who is defending Suu Kyi and other leaders of her National League for Democracy party. That charge could add a year to the ousted leader’s likely punishment.

Appearing via video link before a court in Naypyidaw, Suu Kyi appeared to be in good health, Khin Maung Zaw said, adding the new incitement charge was also applied to ousted president Win Myint and former Naypyidaw Council chairman Myo Aung.

More than 30 others were wounded when soldiers and police fired live ammunition into crowds in six cities across Myanmar on Sunday, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement. Myanmar’s government said 12 people died.

The U.S., which has announced sanctions targeting Myanmar’s military leaders and called for a return to democracy, signaled that it plans to respond with further measures.

“To that end, we are preparing additional actions to impose further costs on those responsible for this latest outbreak of violence and the recent coup,” Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said in a statement. “We will have more to share in the coming days.”

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