Since the coup in Myanmar, protests in Myanmar have already killed 54 people and made 1,700 arrests, UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet reports.
She calls on the Myanmar security forces to stop their “brutal crackdowns” against protesters and to release those detained.
Her call comes a day after 38 protesters were killed. That was the deadliest day since the start of the massive anti-coup demonstrations. According to Bachelet, the actual death toll may be much higher. “Myanmar’s military must stop killing and detaining protesters,” she said.
The Myanmar army seized power in the country on February 1. Head of Government Aung San Suu Kyi and other essential politicians were placed in detention. The military accuses Suu Kyi’s party of fraud in the parliamentary elections at the end of last year.
However, there is no evidence of this, according to the national election commission.
It was the second democratic election since the 1960s. At the end of last year, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party achieved an even more significant electoral victory than in 2015. The government leader received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her years of struggle for democracy.