Myanmar protests gather steam as leader of military junta issues stark warning

The military dictator of Myanmar has warned civil servants striking in protest against his coup that they will face consequences if they fail to return work, in a sign of growing impatience with widening opposition rallies.

In his first public statement in days, General Min Aung Hliang, demanded an end to a civil disobedience campaign that has drawn in medical workers, teachers, and even police officers since the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi last week.

"Due to unscrupulous persons' incitement, some civil service personnel have failed to perform their duties," he said in a statement released on Thursday evening. "Effective actions will be taken."

His remarks came as thousands took to the streets for a sixth consecutive day of protests against the Feb 1 coup and the United States and Britain said they were readying fresh sanctions against the perpetrators.

Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, announced on Thursday the United Kingdom is "urgently" looking at punitive measures.

Mr Raab said: "The international community will not accept the coup in Myanmar and we will hold those responsible to account.

"The UK welcomes [US president Joe Biden's] steps today to send a strong message to the military regime.

"[The UK] is urgently looking at further measures under our own sanctions regime."

Protests against the coup in Myanmar continued on Thursday, with thousands of people demonstrating outside China’s embassy in Yangon over allegations Beijing is supporting the junta and rumours that Chinese internet specialists had been flown in to help implement a controversial new cyber security law.

Demonstrators outside the embassy held signs demanding Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, stop helping the coup, with slogans including “Dear Chinese government, don’t stay muted. This is not a Zoom meeting,” and “Stop interfering with our affairs of state.”

The Chinese embassy did not give an immediate response to the rally outside its gates but late on Wednesday, it used Facebook to post a denial of internet rumours that planes that arrived this week from China brought in technical personnel. It said the cargo flights were carrying seafood.

Beijing has denied it is backing the military junta, but its response to the generals’ sudden seizure of power has been muted, with China calling itself a “friendly neighbour” and urging all sides to “handle their differences.”

The stance has increased existing suspicion in Myanmar that China could underpin the military’s political ambitions to preserve its own economic and strategic interests in the Southeast Asian nation.

Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a local activist, told The Telegraph that conspiracy theories about Chinese involvement had been fuelled by the public’s perception of China’s long-standing support for the Myanmar military and its opaque public position. “It should make its policy clear,” she said.

Meanwhile online crusaders in Myanmar have begun to hunt for the officer who opened fire on a young female anti-coup protester, leaving her fighting for her life with a serious brain injury.

Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing should have been celebrating her 20th birthday on Thursday, but instead she has become a rallying cry for a pro-democracy movement that is gaining pace across the country in opposition to a military takeover on February 1.

Doctors have told Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing's devastated family that she has little chance of survival. Amnesty International says it has verified footage of the incident and says "police recklessly targeted protesters” with live ammunition.

Images from the incident show a member of the police wielding a Myanmar-made variant of the Uzi sub-machine gun.

The accusations contradict Myanmar military claims that security forces were not carrying lethal weapons. The identity of the gunman remains unknown but Facebook and Twitter users have launched an online hunt.

Some have posted private details - including the home address and family business locations - of a man they suspect fired the bullet.

The target has denied being the police officer in the photographs, writing on Facebook that "this misrepresentation has caused a great deal of damage."

The 36-page draft bill proposes that internet providers would have to prevent or remove content deemed to “cause hatred, destroy unity and tranquillity” to be “untruthful news or rumours” or to be inappropriate to Myanmar’s culture, such as pornography.

The world’s biggest internet companies have joined advocacy groups in raising the alarm that the laws would harm fundamental rights and the economy by giving unprecedented censorship powers and violating privacy.

It “would significantly undermine freedom of expression and represents a regressive step after years of progress,” said a statement from the Asia Internet Coalition, whose members include Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon.

“For the people of Burma this is making Burma like North Korea,” said Kyaw Win, the executive director of the Burma Human Rights Network.

Last week, Myanmar’s military rulers banned Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms used by critics, and blocked the internet for a day. Many fear this could happen again.

On Friday, the UN’s top human rights body is to consider a resolution drafted by Britain and the European Union that would condemn Myanmar’s military coup and demand urgent access for monitors, but China and Russia are again expected to try to temper the move.