Thein Sein Orders Inquiry Into Yangon Protest Crackdown

Myanmar's President Thein Sein March 12 has ordered the creation of a commission of inquiry into the violent dispersal of a student protest held in downtown Yangon last week, The Irrawaddy reported, citing state-run media the Global New Light of Myanmar. 

 

The Mar 5 protest outside Sule Pagoda was attacked by police officers and a group of plainclothes men wearing red armbands emblazoned with the word “duty”.

The men were spotted entering the nearby City Hall building, where a local police contingent is stationed, shortly before initiating an attack on the students.

The protest was staged in order to call upon the government to seek a peaceful settlement with 200 student demonstrators in Letpadan, Pegu Division, who were blocked from continuing their journey to Yangon by a large security force.

On Tuesday, the Letpadan protesters were attacked by police, resulting in 127 arrests and an estimated 100 injuries.

According to the Global New Light of Myanmar, the commission will investigate “whether security forces acted properly in dispersing the protesters, and whether the authorities responsible acted in line with legal procedures.”

The commission, led by Brig-Gen Kyaw Kyaw Tun, the deputy minister of home affairs, will comprise former civil servants and representatives of the Yangon Division and Union governments.

 It has been ordered to report by the end of March.