a group of protesters charged the
well-armed military junta
on the streets of yangon armed with just
sticks and knives
the result tragic sunday saw one of the
bloodiest days of protest in myanmar
since the military coup began reports
suggest
dozens of protesters died state-run
media said a police officer was also
killed in the clashes
and announced that the military was
declaring martial law in two yangon
townships
the state administrative council gives
the yangon regional commander
administrative and judicial martial law
power
over the two townships in yangon region
this will enable the yangon military
command to enforce security
enforce the rule of law and ensure
tranquility more effectively
the move came after china called on
myanmar to protect chinese interests and
people in the country
after reports two chinese financed
businesses
were set on fire by unknown attackers
many protesters believe china is giving
support to the myanmar military
after six weeks of demonstrations
protesters refused to give up
despite the obvious threat to their own
safety
many feel they owe it to those who have
already died
i saw the fallen heroes give their lives
i don't want them to think that i am
afraid and just want to stay at home
i'm going out on the streets as a
citizen as a woman
so that i can stand on the side of
justice with the death toll drastically
rising
it's hard to say how long these
protesters will be able to hold out
let's get the latest from journalist
andrew nakam he is
in yangon andrew security forces are
using
lethal force there more and more around
40 people were reported
killed in the latest crackdown what
impact is this having on the protest
movement
yesterday was the the deadliest day of
crackdowns so far
um and these increasing massacres are
kind of having the dual effect
of yes they're making protesters more
scared to go out on the street but
they're also making people angrier and
angrier
um we're increasingly seeing protesters
armed with swords and
and other weapons so i think these legal
crackdowns are going to have the effect
of of turning what was peaceful protests
into people actually starting to fight
back
okay the ousted civilian leader aung
sang
chi she was pushed out by this coup
she's due in court today
what can we expect there
these hearings aren't um super
transparent but
the last time she was in court she got
hit with two new charges
and i think that that's definitely a
distinct possibility today
she's been accused of corruption but not
formally charged
so i think a big thing to watch for
today is whether or not the court
introduces new charges for corruption
okay and china is a player here china is
myanmar's neighbor to the north hugely
influential in the country what
role is china playing in this conflict
so there are a lot of protesters who
believe that china directly supported
the coup
i think that's very unlikely just
because china likes stability
their their business interests are
threatened by the political chaos
gripping the country right now
um but certainly i think the protesters
are right to believe that
china should be doing more to put
pressure on the junta
um they've basically said you know this
is an internal affair and and kind of
taken a step back
and i think um if china were to apply
more pressure it probably could be
productive in solving the political
crisis
andrew thank you very much that was
journalist andrew nathamson
in yangon thank you
you