Young woman shot in head by police is 1st confirmed death in Myanmar's anti-coup protests

Yangon, Myanmar — A young woman who was shot in the head by police last week during a protest against the military coup in Myanmar died Friday, her family said. It was the first confirmed death among thousands of protesters who have faced off against security forces since the junta took power on February 1, detained the country's elected leaders and prevented Parliament from convening.
 
Mya Thwet Thwet Khine was shot during a demonstration in the capital, Naypyitaw, on February 9, two days before her 20th birthday. Video showed her sheltering from water cannons and suddenly dropping to the ground after a bullet penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing. She had been on life support in a hospital with what doctors said was no chance of recovery.
 
Her sister, speaking from the hospital's mortuary, urged people not to give up their struggle to restore democracy.

"Please participate and continue fighting until we achieve our goal," said Mya Thatoe Nwe. She said the funeral would be held Sunday.

"Blood on their hands"

Protesters have hailed Mya Thwet Thwet Khine as a hero and commemorated her during demonstrations earlier this week. News of her death is likely to inflame passions in the protest movement, which has embraced nonviolent civil disobedience.

A spokesman for the ruling military did not deny that she had been shot by security forces, but said at a news conference this week that she was in a crowd that had thrown rocks at police and the case was under investigation. There were no independent accounts of her taking part in any violence.

Human Rights Watch accused the police in Naypyitaw of having "blood on their hands."
 
"The officer who pulled the trigger must be investigated, arrested, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of the New York-based group. "That's the only suitable way to honor the memory of this brave young woman."
 
Demonstrations continued Friday in Yangon, the country's biggest city, and elsewhere.

Cracking down out of sight

Security forces have been relatively restrained so far in confronting protesters in Yangon, but appeared to be toughening their stance in areas where there is less media presence.

Police used force for a second day to arrest protesters in Myitkyina, the capital of the remote northern state of Kachin. The Kachin ethnic minority has long been in conflict with the central government, and there has been intermittent armed struggle against the army there for decades.
 
On Thursday night in the southeastern city of Dawei, several people were wounded by rubber bullets when police staged nighttime raids to try to arrest activists, local media reported. Large but peaceful protest marches have taken place in the city, with negotiations between the demonstrators and the authorities to avoid confrontations.
 
Tom Andrews, the independent U.N. human rights expert on Myanmar, told The Associated Press this week that the initial restraint of police in dealing with "robust citizen opposition to the coup" has moved in some instances to use of rubber bullets, real ammunition and water cannons.

Speaking from the United States, he also said "hardened" troops were being deployed from border areas to some cities, raising the possibility of bloodshed and "a tragic loss of life."
 
The junta says it took power — after detaining national leader Aung San Suu Kyi and preventing Parliament from convening — because elections last November were tainted by voting irregularities. The election outcome, in which Suu Kyi's party won by a landslide, was affirmed by an election commission that has since been replaced by the military. The junta says it will hold new elections in a year's time.
 
The U.S., Britain and Canadian governments have imposed sanctions on the new military leaders, and they and other governments have called for Suu Kyi's administration to be restored.
 
The coup was a major setback to Myanmar's transition to democracy after 50 years of army rule. Suu Kyi come to power after her National League for Democracy party won a 2015 election, but the generals retained substantial power under the constitution, which was adopted under a military regime.