It has been more than five weeks since Myanmar’s military took full control of the Southeast Asia nation, removing the democratically elected government, in a move that has sparked nationwide anti-coup protests.Tens of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets in demonstrations that have included widespread strikes from the professional class aiming to stifle the rule of the junta government, officially the State Administrative Council (SAC).But despite street rallies that have become a daily occurrence, the military has ramped up efforts to silence demonstrators by aggressively responding with live ammunition to quell protests. Dozens have died, including members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Anti-coup demonstrators sprays fire extinguishers over a barricade during a protests in Yangon, Myanmar, March 9, 2021.“Myanmar’s junta runs the security forces and can quickly find out who killed Khin Maung Latt if they want to. If they want to show they believe in the rule of law, all those responsible should be held account,” Brian Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch said.In response to the coup last month, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) was formed, representing the elected lawmakers of the ousted NLD party. After refusing to recognize the military, they have since notified diplomats and international parliaments they should liaise with the committee on government matters.  Arkar Myo Htet admitted as the brutal crackdown continues in Myanmar, like many other NLD members, he could be next.“I stay hiding already. I have to move every three days. Over 100 NLD MP’s are already in jail,” he said.But despite the risk he faces, he believes the people of Myanmar are not afraid to protest the military, unlike previous revolutions.“When they threat in 1988 and 2007, the people did not have, did not feel the freedom. After five years of NLD government, people feel what the meaning is of democracy, why we need democracy,” he added.But the military has stepped up their efforts to detain opposition members, legislator Sithu Maung added, saying that on Sunday evening his father had also been arrested.”My father Peter (from) Hlaing Township, NLD party member has been arrested by soldiers and police,” part of his post on Facebook read.He now waits anxiously on the fate of his father, just like many families who have had loved ones detained with little update on their condition. The AAPPB reported that 1,857 have been detained with 1,538 still in detention or have faced charges since the coup began.Protesters in Myanmar Demand Security Forces Release Trapped YouthsUN and US urge restraint against youths barricaded inside residential apartmentsMyanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by armed forces from 1962 until 2011 when democratic reforms led by Aung San Suu Kyi ended the military rule. In 2015, her NLD party won the country’s first open democratic election.In the general elections in November 2020, the military-backed opposition lost heavily to Suu Kyi’s democracy party. The opposition contested the results, claiming there was widespread electoral fraud.On February 1, the Myanmar military, also known as Tatmadaw, removed the NLD government.NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained and additionally charged. The military announced a one-year-long state of emergency with commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing taking power. He later announced a “free and fair general election” would be held.Zin Thu Aung contributed to this report.
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A terrifying standoff between anti-coup protesters and security forces in Myanmar’s largest city ended early Tuesday morning without further bloodshed. Witnesses in Yangon said as many as 200 young people were cornered in the Sanchaung neighborhood Monday night as they escaped the clutches of security forces who have carried out an increasingly bloody crackdown against the demonstrations.   The army fired guns and stun grenades as the students fled into buildings and homes in the district and threatened to launch a door-to-door search for the youths.  People look at a police vehicle after Sanchaung district has been seized in search of anti-coup demonstrators in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.News of the youths spread quickly on social media, prompting thousands of people to fill the streets of Yangon in defiance of a nighttime curfew to demand that security forces end the siege, chanting “Free the students in Sanchaung.” World reactionThe news also spread quickly outside of Myanmar’s borders, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” and “the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” according to his spokesman.    The United Nations noted that many of those trapped are women who were peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women’s Day.   The U.S. Embassy said in a statement, “We call on those security forces to withdraw and allow people to go home safely.”   The diplomatic missions of Britain, Canada and the European Union also issued statements urging Myanmar security forces to allow the trapped people to return safely to their homes. The students were able to leave shortly before dawn just hours after security forces left the area, but not before anywhere between 25 and 50 people had been arrested in Sanchaung after a house-to-house search.Protesters take shelter behind homemade shields after tear gas was fired during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on March 8, 2021.The standoff happened as the junta revoked the licenses of five independent broadcasters — Mizzima, the Democratic Voice of Burma, Khit Thit, Myanmar Now and 7Day News — that had been offering extensive coverage of the protests, especially through livestreaming video. Myanmar has been consumed by chaos and violence since February 1, when the military overthrew the civilian government and detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking NLD officials. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide, a claim denied by Myanmar’s electoral commission.   Mounting casualties
At least 50 people have been killed across Myanmar since the protests began, including at least two demonstrators Monday in the city of Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State. Photos taken by reporters with VOA’s Burmese service depict gunshot victims lying in the street in a pool of blood, some being attended to by emergency personnel. Another photo showed a woman being helped to her feet after suffering a gruesome arm injury.     Reuters reported another person was killed at a protest in the town of Phyar Pon in the Irrawaddy Delta, citing a political activist and local media.  In addition to Yangon, protests took place Monday in several cities in Myanmar, including the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the capital, Naypyitaw, and the western town of Monywa.   Riot police holding shields and guns march towards a gate of the Mandalay Technological University in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 7, 2021, in this still image obtained by Reuters from a CCTV footage.Protesters waved flags made from women’s sarongs or strung them on ropes across the roads to mark International Women’s Day. The sarongs were also meant to shame the police and military, as walking underneath them is traditionally considered bad luck.   Riot police stand in formation in front of road barricade, as protesters hang women’s clothings overhead to mark the International Women’s Day in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.Many businesses were closed across Yangon on Monday after an alliance of nine trade unions launched a general strike to back the anti-coup movement and pressure members of the military junta.   Strikes by civil servants, including those operating trains in the country, have taken place for weeks.   The calls to shut down the economy came Sunday after another bloody day between the protesters and the police and military, who are occupying hospitals in the main city of Yangon.   The United Nations said Monday that the occupation of hospitals by security forces is “completely unacceptable.” A U.N. team in Myanmar said, “hospitals are, and must remain, places of sanctuary and unequivocal neutrality — to ensure that patients undergoing medical care are safe,” according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. An official from ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for (NLD) Democracy Party died in police custody, a party official confirmed to VOA’s Burmese service.  People attend a funeral of U Khin Maung Latt, 58, National League for Democracy (NLD party member in Yangon, Myanmar, March 7, 2021.NLD member Khin Maung Latt was arrested during overnight raids in Yangon Saturday and died while in detention, party lawmaker Sithu Maung said. A cause of death was not released.     Tun Kyi, spokesperson of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told VOA Burmese that he accompanied the bereaved family to claim Khin Maung Latt’s body and witnessed blood on his head, his fingers blackened and wounds on his back.Police have not commented on the matter.
The AAPP advocacy group said Saturday that more than 1,700 people had been detained under the junta.  Several journalists are among the detainees.   VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report.   
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Thousands of protesters took to the streets Monday in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, in defiance of a nighttime curfew to demand that security forces stop their siege of hundreds of young anti-coup protesters.And protesters rallied across the city Monday night in support of the youths in the Sanchaung neighborhood, chanting, “Free the students in Sanchaung.”News of the youths spread quickly on social media, and people turned out on the streets to try to draw some of the security forces away from the young protesters who were trapped in a small area of the neighborhood.Riot police stand in formation in front of road barricade, as protesters hang women’s clothing overhead to mark the International Women’s Day in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.The army threatened to search door to door for the youths as the United Nations, the United States and other countries appealed for them to be allowed to leave.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” and “the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” according to his spokesman.The United Nations noted that many of those trapped are women who were peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women’s Day.The U.S. Embassy said in a statement, “We call on those security forces to withdraw and allow people to go home safely.”The diplomatic missions of Britain, Canada and the European Union also issued statements urging Myanmar security forces to allow the trapped people to return safely to their homes.But the Reuters news agency reported that as of early Tuesday, 20 people had been arrested in Sanchaung after police searched houses.Earlier Monday, at least two protesters were killed in another day of public demonstrations against last month’s military overthrow of the civilian government.The latest fatalities occurred in the city of Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State. Photos taken by reporters with VOA’s Burmese service depict gunshot victims lying in the street in a pool of blood, some being attended to by emergency personnel. Another photo showed a woman being helped to her feet after suffering a gruesome arm injury.Reuters reported another person was killed at a protest in the town of Phyar Pon in the Irrawaddy Delta, citing a political activist and local media.In addition to Yangon, protests took place Monday in several cities in Myanmar, including the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the capital, Naypyitaw, and the western town of Monywa.Protesters waved flags made from women’s sarongs or strung them on ropes across the roads to mark International Women’s Day. The sarongs were also meant to shame the police and military, as walking underneath them is traditionally considered bad luck.Many businesses were closed across Yangon on Monday after an alliance of nine trade unions launched a general strike to back the anti-coup movement and pressure members of the military junta.”To continue economic and business activities as usual … will only benefit the military as they repress the energy of the Myanmar people,” they said in a joint statement. “The time to take action in defense of our democracy is now.”Strikes by civil servants, including those operating trains in the country, have taken place for weeks.The calls to shut down the economy came Sunday after another bloody day between the protesters and the police and military, who are occupying hospitals in the main city of Yangon.The United Nations said Monday that the occupation of hospitals by security forces is “completely unacceptable.” A U.N. team in Myanmar said, “hospitals are, and must remain, places of sanctuary and unequivocal neutrality — to ensure that patients undergoing medical care are safe,” according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.Anti-coup protesters discharge fire extinguishers to counter the impact of the tear gas fired by police during a demonstration in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.An official from ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for (NLD) Democracy Party died in police custody, a party official confirmed to VOA’s Burmese service.NLD member Khin Maung Latt was arrested during overnight raids Saturday in Yangon and died while in detention, party lawmaker Sithu Maung said. A cause of death was not released.Tun Kyi, spokesperson of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told VOA Burmese that he accompanied the bereaved family to claim Khin Maung Latt’s body and witnessed blood on his head, his fingers blackened and wounds on his back.Police have not commented on the matter.The AAPP advocacy group said Saturday that more than 1,700 people had been detained under the junta.”Detainees were punched and kicked with military boots, beaten with police batons, and then dragged into police vehicles,” AAPP said in a statement. “Security forces entered residential areas and tried to arrest further protesters and shot at the homes.”Myanmar has been consumed by chaos and violence since February 1, when the military overthrew the civilian government and detained Suu Kyi and other high-ranking NLD officials. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide. Election officials have denied any significant irregularities.VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report.
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Three Tibetan teenagers are missing and one is hospitalized with two broken legs after reportedly failing to register a WeChat text group chat with local authorities, according to a Tibetan advocacy group.   The teens, who have been named as Dadul, Sangye Tso and Kansi, live in the eastern area of Tibet governed as the Qinghai Province of China, according to Tibet Watch, a British charity that documents human rights abuses in Tibet.Images show a male teenager alleged to be Dadul in a Xining, China hospital with his legs in splints, over 1,000 kilometers away from his hometown of Kyegudo. Tibet Watch told VOA the teenagers were arrested February 17, and were unable to say where Kansi and Sangye Tso were.   Chinese authorities have not commented on the matter.    Occupied by China since 1959, Tibet requires citizens to register all group chats with local authorities so text conversations may be monitored.   The three teens are said to have started a WeChat group named White Rocky Mountain Club, a reference to a local Buddhist deity. The group chat was created to mark the Tibetan new year, which ran from February 12-14. The group had around 240 members, according to Tibet Watch.   “These young people have been brutalized for exercising a right that most of them take for granted on a daily basis,” said John Jones, campaigns and advocacy manager at Free Tibet, a UK non-profit aiming to end China’s occupation of Tibet that works with Tibet Watch. “I’d ask everyone to imagine if they had to invite a government official to every one of their chat groups or face imprisonment and broken limbs.”  “Next week, 10th March, marks Tibetan Uprising Day, the anniversary of the brutally put-down resistance to the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959,” Jones said. “We call on every government around the world to take concrete action to remind the Chinese Communist Party that, try as they might to hide their atrocities, we have not forgotten the Tibetan people.” Tibet Watch alleges that Dadul’s family was summoned by police to the hospital where he is being treated, and asked to bring approximately $6,000, to pay for Dadul’s surgery. Authorities told the family to keep these affairs secret, according to Tibet Watch’s source. “We are aware of reports that several Tibetan teenagers in Qinghai province were detained and beaten by police for participating in a WeChat group,” according to a Department of State spokesperson in an email. “We are concerned by continued reports that Tibetans are detained, imprisoned, and mistreated for infractions as minor as sending text messages.”   
 
The spokesperson noted “repeated reports of abuse of Tibetan prisoners by People’s Republic of China security officials,” citing Tenzin Nyima, 19, who died in detention in January, and Kunchock Jinpa, a tour guide who died in January while serving a 21-year sentence for protesting. The cases “further illustrate that the abuse of Tibetans does not stop at being arrested,” the spokesperson stated.  “The United States stands with the many Tibetans oppressed and imprisoned by the PRC for the peaceful exercise of their human rights,” the spokesperson stated. “We urge PRC authorities to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Tibet has been under the control of China since 1959, when the country was annexed and its ethnic government and leadership dissolved. Tibetan leaders and others have demanded that China extract itself from the Tibetan Autonomous Region and return its leadership to Tibetans.  The U.S. Department of States cites “reports of forced disappearances, arrests, torture, physical abuse, including sexual abuse, and prolonged detentions without trial of individuals due to their religious practices,” by the Chinese. Cindy Saine  contributed to this report.
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When the coronavirus first emerged, many East Asian countries were hailed as global examples due to their impressive containment efforts. But as the one-year anniversary of the pandemic approaches, some of those countries are falling behind in their vaccine campaigns, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul.Camera: Kim Hyungjin, William Gallo
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South Korea will increase its contribution to the cost of U.S. forces stationed in the country under an agreement reached with the United States, the State Department said Sunday, easing an irritant in ties between the two allies.The agreement reflects the Biden administration’s “commitment to reinvigorating and modernizing our democratic alliances around the world to advance our shared security and prosperity,” a State Department spokeswoman said.The proposed six-year “Special Measures Agreement” will replace the previous arrangement that expired at the end of 2019.The spokeswoman said the agreement included a “negotiated meaningful increase in host nation support contributions,” but gave no further details.There are about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea as deterrence against North Korea. More than 90% of Seoul’s contributions under the previous agreement went directly back into the South Korean economy, the spokeswoman added.The negotiations had been gridlocked after former U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Seoul’s offer to pay 13% more, for a total of about $1 billion a year, and demanded as much as $5 billion. Seoul currently pays Washington about $920 million a year.The deal must still be approved by the South Korean legislature. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry confirmed an agreement in principle in a statement but offered no specifics.“Both sides will make a public announcement and hold a tentative signing ceremony after completing internal reporting procedures. The government will resolve to sign an agreement in a swift manner to resolve its vacuum that has lasted more than a year,” the ministry added.President Joe Biden has vowed to revitalize U.S. alliances after four years of strains under Trump and build a united front to counter the challenges posed by Russia, China and Iran.”Mr. Trump did what he believed was right and I respect his opinion, but more than anything else, I was disappointed at the way he asked,” said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean general and special forces commander who worked with the American military.South Korea began paying for the U.S. troop presence in the early 1990s, after rebuilding its war-devastated economy. The two countries signed a treaty of mutual defense at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which provided the basis for the stationing of U.S. forces in South Korea.Chun said the new deal was a win for the alliance because it would improve the overall conditions for U.S. forces, while the six-year extension would provide much-needed stability”I hope that this agreement will highlight the fact that ‘Korea is not a freeloader’ and is and has been a reliable ally,” he said.The announcement came after South Korea’s chief envoy, Jeong Eun-bo, arrived in Washington for the first face-to-face talks with U.S. envoy Donna Welton since Biden’s administration took office in January.After the last pact expired, some 4,000 South Koreans working for the U.S. military were placed on unpaid leave, prompting the two countries to scramble for a stopgap agreement to let them return to work.The United States reached agreement with Japan last month on Tokyo’s contribution to the stationing of about 55,000 U.S. forces there, keeping Japan’s annual costs steady at about $1.9 billion.
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The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, urged the world to “be brave and get vaccinated,” Saturday after he was inoculated with the coronavirus vaccine in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala. However, some countries are having trouble obtaining enough vaccines for their populations.Fears of vaccine hoarding are beginning to emerge, following word that Italy has blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia. An Associated Press report says the European Union is set to appeal to Washington to make sure that EU countries receive millions of AstraZeneca vaccine doses they still need, as well as ingredients needed to produce vaccines. “We trust that we can work together with the U.S.,” the European Commission said in a statement, “to ensure that vaccines produced or bottled in the U.S. for the fulfilment of vaccine producers’ contractual obligations with the EU will be fully honored.” Britan’s National Health Service may be facing staff loss after lawmakers proposed a 1% pay hike for beleaguered frontline workers. The public has been urged to join in a national protest Thursday.  The Washington Post reports that several people have threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement because a Mexican restaurant in Houston, Texas, decided to keep its mask requirement after the governor said he is rescinding the state’s mask mandate even though most Texans have not been vaccinated.  “People don’t understand unless you’re in our business what it felt like, how hard it was to go through everything we went through during COVID,” Picos co-owner Monica Richards told The Post. “For people to be negative toward us for trying to remain safe, so that this doesn’t continue to happen, just makes zero sense to us.” India’s Health Ministry said Sunday six states have reported high daily COVID-19 cases, accounting for more than 84% of the 18,711 new cases.   Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Sunday that there are more than 116 million global COVID cases.  The U.S. has more cases than any place else with nearly 30 million infections.  India and Brazil follow with 11.2 million cases and 10.9 million cases, respectively.  The coronavirus global death toll has reached 2.5 million, according to Hopkins.     
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Myanmar security forces conducted overnight raids Saturday night into Sunday morning in several districts of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, residents said.At least three people were arrested in Kyauktada Township in downtown Yangon, residents said, with no reason given for the arrests.”They are asking to take out my father and brother. Is no one going to help us?” one woman screamed as two of the three, an actor and his son, were led off, according to Reuters.Soldiers also looked for but didn’t find a lawyer who worked for former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, a member of the now dissolved parliament, Sithu Maung, said in a Facebook post.Reuters was unable to reach police for comment, and a junta spokesperson did not answer calls requesting comment.More protests are expected Sunday, according to local media reports, after military units used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse anti-coup protesters in Yangon on Saturday.The General Strike Committee of Nationalities said protests would be held in Yangon, Mandalay and Monywa, also centers for protests in which the United Nations says security forces have killed more than 50 people.The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group said Saturday that more than 1,700 people had been detained under the junta, according to its figures.”Detainees were punched and kicked with military boots, beaten with police batons, and then dragged into police vehicles,” AAPP said in a statement. “Security forces entered residential areas and tried to arrest further protesters, and shot at the homes, destroying many.”State television MRTV reported Saturday that Myanmar authorities had exhumed the body of Kyal Sin, also known as Angel, who died while wearing a T-shirt that read, “Everything will be OK.”Kyal Sin, who has become an icon of the protests, was shot in the head and died Wednesday.The police, doctors and a judge determined that she was killed by “those who do not want stability” and not police, MRTV said. Officials had said her wound was to the back of her head, and therefore couldn’t have been caused by police. However, photos published by Reuters show Kyal Sin had the back of her head turned to a line of security forces moments before she was shot.Myanmar has been consumed by chaos and violence since February 1, when the military overthrew the civilian government and detained Suu Kyi and other high-ranking NLD officials. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide.  However, the country’s election officials deny any significant irregularities.Soldiers and police have cracked down on demonstrators using live ammunition and rubber bullets, shooting indiscriminately into the crowds.The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said Friday that in the past seven days, at least 50 “innocent and peaceful protesters” have been killed and scores more have been wounded.She said as of March 2, the U.N. office of human rights is aware of about 1,000 people who are either known to be in detention or unaccounted for after having been arbitrarily detained since the coup.“There is an urgency for collective action,” she told U.N. Security Council members. “How much more can we allow the Myanmar military to get away with?”Schraner Burgener said the international community must make it clear that perpetrators of serious human rights violations will be held accountable.Separately, the U.N.’s human rights expert on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on the Security Council to impose a global arms embargo on the military.“I urge the Council to take decisive and unified action against the military junta, including targeted sanctions, an arms embargo, and a referral to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute atrocities committed since the coup on 1 February and those committed against ethnic groups in years prior,” he said in a statement.He noted that 41 countries already have imposed arms embargoes on Myanmar’s military.The committee representing the NLD legislators is also calling for “robust, targeted sanctions” and an arms embargo against the junta in a letter dated March 4 to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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Police and security forces in several cities in Myanmar used force to disperse anti-coup protesters who returned to the streets Saturday, a day after a United Nations envoy urged the Security Council to take actions against the junta and for democracy to be restored.Protests were reported in Yangon, where military units used stun grenades and tear gas against demonstrators. Eighteen people were reported killed there on Wednesday, bringing the number of people killed this week in the country to 50.Protests also took place in several other cities, from north to south and east to west, where police and security forces also fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, told the Security Council on Friday to remain united against the Myanmar military’s use of deadly force against protesters.“The repression must stop,” Schraner Burgener told the closed-door meeting, according to a copy of her remarks shared with reporters.“It is critical that this Council is resolute and coherent in putting the security forces on notice and standing with the people of Myanmar firmly, in support of the clear November election results,” she said. Schraner Burgener warned, though, that the hope the people have placed in the United Nations and its members “is waning.”Myanmar has been mired in chaos and violence for more than a month, since the military’s overthrow of the civilian government and the detentions of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of her National League for Democracy party. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide.  However, the country’s elections officials deny any significant irregularities.Soldiers and police have cracked down on demonstrators using live ammunition and rubber bullets, shooting indiscriminately into the crowds.The envoy said Friday that in the past seven days, at least 50 “innocent and peaceful protesters” have been killed and scores more have been wounded.She said as of March 2, the U.N. Office of Human Rights is aware of about 1,000 people who are either known to be in detention or unaccounted for after having been arbitrarily detained since the Feb. 1 coup.“There is an urgency for collective action,” she told Security Council members. “How much more can we allow the Myanmar military to get away with?”Schraner Burgener said the international community must make it clear that perpetrators of serious human rights violations will be held accountable.“The right to life, the right to liberty and safety, the right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment, and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly must be respected,” she said.The special envoy, who has been in her job for three years and has spent a large part of her time in Myanmar, has been trying to arrange a trip back to the country to meet with military officials, detainees, civil society and protesters. Officials have told her the time is not right.Schraner Burgener renewed her calls on the council to not lend legitimacy or recognition to the junta, urging the release of political detainees, and unhindered humanitarian access.“I will continue my efforts in solidarity with the people of Myanmar,” she said. “Their hope will depend on unified support and action from the Security Council.”Riot police officers hold down a protester as they disperse demonstrators in Tharkata Township on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, March 6, 2021.Next stepsBritain requested Friday’s council meeting. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters afterward that members are discussing what they can do in a unified manner.“As the situation has deteriorated, I think it is right the council return and consider the next steps, and that is what we were discussing today,” she said.Myanmar’s patron, China, explained its position. In a statement released to reporters, Ambassador Zhang Jun expressed support for the U.N. special envoy and Association of Southeast Asian Nations efforts to resolve the situation.Beijing has said the matter is an internal one, but at the same time noted it is following developments “closely with great concern.”“We don’t want to see instability, even chaos in Myanmar,” the Chinese ambassador said. “The military and various political parties are all members of the Myanmar family, and should all take up the historical responsibility of maintaining the country’s stability and development.”He added that the parties should resolve problems peacefully and “exercise utmost calm restraint, refrain from intensifying tensions or using violence, and prevent any incident of bloodshed.”On Feb. 4, the 15-nation Security Council issued a unanimous statement expressing its concern and calling for the release of Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and others. Council members also stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.Call for arms embargo growsSeparately, the U.N.’s human rights expert on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on the Security Council to impose a global arms embargo on the military.“I urge the Council to take decisive and unified action against the military junta, including targeted sanctions, an arms embargo, and a referral to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute atrocities committed since the coup on 1 February and those committed against ethnic groups in years prior,” he said in a statement.He noted that 41 countries already have imposed arms embargoes on Myanmar’s military.The committee representing the NLD legislators is also calling for “robust, targeted sanctions” and an arms embargo against the junta in a letter dated March 4 to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.Human rights groups joined the call.“No country should be selling a single bullet to the junta after its abuses against Myanmar’s people,” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch.“There is an acute and urgent need for a prompt, effective, independent and impartial investigation into shocking human rights violations across Myanmar, including the chain of command responsible for these egregious killings,” Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for research, Emerlynne Gil said. “The military leadership has calculated that they will get away with this; the international community needs to ensure that those calculations were wrong.”Meanwhile, in Washington, a bipartisan U.S. congressional caucus on press freedom expressed its deep concern and called for the release of journalists arrested while covering the protests.“As the people of Burma demonstrate in the wake of the military coup, it is vitally important that members of the media be allowed to do their jobs without fear of intimidation, arrest, or violence,” the caucus co-chairs said in a joint statement, referring to Myanmar by its older name, Burma. “The United States and the international community must be united in condemning the outrageous and violent response to peaceful protests and call on authorities to respect the rights of journalists to report freely.”
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China’s eastern province of Shandong has reversed a long-standing rule restricting movement from rural areas to the cities in an effort to boost urban consumption and close the social division between the province’s urban and rural dwellers.Shandong’s move Thursday made it the second province to implement the change. The government in southern Jiangxi province FILE – A farmer arranges crops to dry in Wuyuan, Jiangxi province, China, Oct. 14, 2017.Fei-Ling Wang, a professor of international affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology and the author of “Organization Through Division and Exclusion: China’s Hukou System,” told Sixth Tone, a state-owned English-language online magazine based in Shanghai, that the removal of settlement restrictions was “a bold step in the right direction to ease restrictions of labor mobility.”“It is very much in line with the general trend of localization of the hukou administration, signaling a progressive relaxation of the control of domestic migration and a welcome effort of reducing the urban-rural barriers, at least within a province,” he said.China’s urbanization rate stood at 60.6% at the end of 2019, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.Economists say relaxing residency rules would help ease labor shortages in cities, and that an influx of rural workers will bring a boost in urban consumption, particularly through purchases of homes.Yet some Jiangxi residents are skeptical of the policy change. Peng, a Jiangxi resident with rural hukou, told VOA that he’s not sure people like him can get the same social benefits even if he obtains an urban residency permit.Concern about schooling“My main concern is my kids’ education. School resources are never equal between people with rural hukou and urban hukou, and I’m not sure this policy change will give my kids the same resources if they have to go to a school here [in the city],” he told VOA.A businessman who asked not to be identified for reasons of personal safety told VOA that scrapping residency rules is a good move, but only when those who move to an area have equal access to medicine, education and social benefits.“Hukou is just a paper. The most important thing is your hukou can greatly impact your social benefits,” he said, “So we have to wait and see if farmers can really start to have equal rights and enjoy equal resources as their urban dwellers, should they choose to move to urban areas. And if not, this is just a show.”    
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The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar urged Security Council members Friday to remain united against the Myanmar military’s use of deadly force against protesters, who continue to take to the streets in daily opposition to the February 1 coup.“The repression must stop,” Christine Schraner Burgener told the closed-door meeting, according to a copy of her remarks shared with reporters.FILE – In this June 15, 2018, photo, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener arrives at the Parliament Building, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.“It is critical that this Council is resolute and coherent in putting the security forces on notice and standing with the people of Myanmar firmly, in support of the clear November election results,” she said. Schraner Burgener warned, though, that the hope the people have placed in the United Nations and its members “is waning.”Myanmar has been mired in chaos and violence for more than a month, since the military’s overthrow of the civilian government and the detentions of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) Party. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide. Soldiers and police have cracked down on demonstrators using live ammunition and rubber bullets, shooting indiscriminately into the crowds.The envoy said Friday that in the past seven days, some 50 “innocent and peaceful protesters” have been killed and scores more have been wounded.People attend the funeral of a demonstrator shot dead during anti-coup protests, in Yangon, Myanmar, March 5, 2021.Schraner Burgener said the international community must make it clear that perpetrators of serious human rights violations will be held accountable.“The right to life, the right to liberty and safety, the right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment, and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly must be respected,” she said.The special envoy, who has been in her job for three years and has spent a large part of her time in Myanmar, has been trying to arrange a trip back to the country to meet with military officials, detainees, civil society and protesters. Officials have told her the time is not right.Schraner Burgener renewed her calls on the Council to not lend legitimacy or recognition to the junta, urging the release of political detainees, and unhindered humanitarian access.“I will continue my efforts in solidarity with the people of Myanmar,” she said. “Their hope will depend on unified support and action from the Security Council.”British Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward, who requested Friday’s meeting, poses for a photo, Jan. 5, 2021, in New YorkNext stepsBritain requested Friday’s Council meeting. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters afterward that members are discussing what they can do in a unified manner.“As the situation has deteriorated, I think it is right the council return and consider the next steps, and that is what we were discussing today,” she said.Myanmar’s patron, China, explained its position. In a statement released to reporters, Ambassador Zhang Jun expressed support for the U.N. special envoy and regional bloc ASEAN’s efforts to resolve the situation.Beijing has said the matter is an internal one, but at the same time noted it is following developments “closely with great concern.”“We don’t want to see instability, even chaos in Myanmar,” the Chinese ambassador said. “The military and various political parties are all members of the Myanmar family, and should all take up the historical responsibility of maintaining the country’s stability and development.”He added that the parties should resolve problems peacefully and “exercise utmost calm restraint, refrain from intensifying tensions or using violence, and prevent any incident of bloodshed.”On February 4, the 15-nation Security Council issued a unanimous statement expressing its concern and calling for the release of Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and others. Council members also stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.So far, the calls have had no impact on the ground.Anti-coup protesters flash the three-fingered symbol of resistance and bow in memory of those who died during recent security crackdowns in Yangon, Myanmar, March 5, 2021.Call for arms embargo growsSeparately, the U.N.’s human rights expert on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on the Security Council to impose a global arms embargo on the military.“I urge the Council to take decisive and unified action against the military junta, including targeted sanctions, an arms embargo, and a referral to the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute atrocities committed since the coup on 1 February and those committed against ethnic groups in years prior,” he said in a statement.He noted that 41 countries already have imposed arms embargoes on Myanmar’s military.The committee representing the NLD legislators is also calling for “robust, targeted sanctions” and an arms embargo against the junta in a letter dated March 4 to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.My letter to UN Security Council To UN Security Council through UN Secretary General , c/o the chair of UNSC, Ambassador and Permanent Representative , UK Mission to United Nations#DrSasapic.twitter.com/kW0OWXEDgT— Dr.Sasa (@drsasa_mm) March 4, 2021Human rights groups joined the call.“No country should be selling a single bullet to the junta after its abuses against Myanmar’s people,” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch.“There is an acute and urgent need for a prompt, effective, independent and impartial investigation into shocking human rights violations across Myanmar, including the chain of command responsible for these egregious killings,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research, Emerlynne Gil said. “The military leadership has calculated that they will get away with this; the international community needs to ensure that those calculations were wrong.”Meanwhile, in Washington, a bipartisan U.S. Congressional caucus on press freedom expressed its deep concern and called for the release of journalists arrested while covering the protests“As the people of Burma demonstrate in the wake of the military coup, it is vitally important that members of the media be allowed to do their jobs without fear of intimidation, arrest, or violence,” the caucus co-chairs said in a joint statement, referring to Myanmar by its older name, Burma. “The United States and the international community must be united in condemning the outrageous and violent response to peaceful protests, and call on authorities to respect the rights of journalists to report freely.” 
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed Friday the government is extending a COVID-19 state of emergency in the Tokyo region and surrounding areas for another two weeks in hopes of relieving the strain on hospitals. Speaking to reporters following a meeting of the government’s COVID-19 task force, Suga said the emergency will be extended to March 21 for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures. The state of emergency had been scheduled to end Sunday. FILE – Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Jan. 13, 2021.Suga said medical systems in the region were still burdened with COVID-19 patients and more hospital beds are needed. He said the extension will also allow the government to better assess the situation. Suga had declared a month-long emergency on January 7 for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba that was later extended through March 7. An emergency that applied to other urban prefectures was lifted last week, underscoring the government’s eagerness to allow businesses to return to normal as soon as possible. The non-binding state of emergency asks that restaurants, bars and other businesses voluntarily close at 8 p.m. Japan has never had a mandatory lockdown but has managed to keep infections relatively low with social distancing and other voluntary measures. Tokyo on Friday reported 301 new cases, up from 278 the day before, raising its total to 112,925.Nationwide, Japan reported more than 436,000 cases and about 8,000 deaths as of Thursday. 
 
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