Human Rights Watch urged the international community to “respond to ongoing human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Myanmar by supplementing, strengthening, and coordinating international sanctions against the junta leadership and military.” The United States and other nations already maintain diplomatic and economic sanctions. “Some protesters used weapons, such as rocks, slings, and Molotov cocktails, in response to the security forces firing on them, but no security force casualties were reported,” the report cited witnesses as saying. In response, some protesters began using homemade weapons in self-defense. In the months immediately following the army’s takeover, largely peaceful demonstrations nationwide were met with increasingly brutal suppression by the security forces. “As they discuss the weapons they were going to use, one officer says to the others, ‘You guys will handle Hlaing Tharyar.’ Another replies: ‘I will show no mercy for these people,’” it says. The report mentions a video posted on TikTok by a police officer that shows riot police preparing to advance on protesters. “We can prove, through testimonies and digital forensics, that in videos posted by security forces, and images that show security forces pointing their weapons – assault rifles and automatic weapons - against civilians, that this was planned and coordinated,” Manny Maung said. Human Rights Watch said it based its findings on interviews with six witnesses and analyses of 13 videos and 31 photographs of the violence posted on social media. “It’s necessary to make sure that such figures are made aware that they can be tried and held to account at a later time,” she said. In her opinion, that would be the Yangon regional military commander and the city’s police chief. “Ultimately, the responsibility lies in the command structure, and whoever was responsible for ordering the crackdown and implementing the crackdown is responsible,” she said.
Human Rights Watch’s Myanmar researcher Manny Maung told The Associated Press the security forces’ actions “constitute the crime against humanity of murder.” No government official was immediately available for comment. Human Right's Watch said no action is known to have been taken against any members of the security forces.
The military-installed government, which imposed martial law in the area after the violence, has described the protesters as “rioters” who burned down garment factories and blocked firefighters. “Soldiers and police armed with military assault rifles fired on trapped protesters and on those trying to assist the wounded, killing at least 65 protesters and bystanders,” said the New York-based organization.
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