Anti-coup protesters prepare makeshift bow and arrows to confront police in Thaketa township Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, March 27, 2021.
(AP Photo)YANGON – As Myanmar’s military celebrated the annual Armed Forces Day holiday with a parade Saturday in the country's capital, soldiers and police elsewhere killed scores of people while suppressing protests in the deadliest bloodletting since last month's coup.
“We urge the Myanmar Armed Forces to cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions.”AdThe European Union’s delegation to Myanmar said that the 76th Myanmar Armed Forces Day “will stay engraved as a day of terror and dishonor.”“The killing of unarmed civilians, including children, are indefensible acts,” it added.
Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing did not directly refer to the protest movement when he gave his nationally televised Armed Forces Day speech before thousands of soldiers in Naypyitaw.
In contrast, security forces have used live ammunition for weeks against what have still been overwhelmingly unarmed and peaceful crowds.