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AP<\/p>\n
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) \u2014 As Myanmar\u2019s military celebrated the annual Armed Forces Day holiday with a parade Saturday in the country\u2019s capital, soldiers and police elsewhere reportedly killed dozens of people as they suppressed protests in the deadliest bloodletting since last month\u2019s coup.<\/p>\n
A count issued by an independent researcher in Yangon who has been compiling near-real time death tolls put the total as darkness fell at 93, spread over more than two dozen cities and towns. The online news site Myanmar Now reported the death toll had reached 91.<\/p>\n
Both numbers are higher than all estimates for the previous high on March 14, which ranged in counts from 74 to 90.<\/p>\n
Figures collected by the researcher, who asked not to be named for his security, have generally tallied with the counts issued at the end of each day by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, which documents deaths and arrests and is widely seen as a definitive source. The Associated Press is unable to independently confirm the death tolls.<\/p>\n
The killings quickly drew international condemnation, with multiple diplomatic missions to Myanmar releasing statements that mentioned the killing of civilians Saturday, including children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 76th Myanmar armed forces day will stay engraved as a day of terror and dishonour,\u201d the European Union\u2019s delegation to Myanmar said on Twitter. \u201cThe killing of unarmed civilians, including children, are indefensible acts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The death toll in Myanmar has been steadily rising as authorities grow more forceful with their suppression of opposition to the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.<\/p>\n
Up through Friday, the Association of Political Prisoners had verified 328 people killed in the post-coup crackdown.<\/p>\n
Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing did not directly refer to the protest movement when he gave his nationally televised Armed Forces Day speech before thousands of soldiers in Naypyitaw. He referred only to \u201cterrorism which can be harmful to state tranquility and social security,\u201d and called it unacceptable.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event was seen as a flashpoint for violence, with demonstrators threatening to double down on their public opposition to the coup with more and bigger demonstrations. The protesters refer to the holiday by its original name, Resistance Day, which marks the beginning of a revolt against Japanese occupation in World War 2.<\/p>\n
State television MRTV on Friday night showed an announcement urging young people \u2014 who have been at the forefront of the protests and prominent among the casualties \u2014 to learn a lesson from those killed during demonstrations about the danger of being shot in the head or back.<\/p>\n
The warning was widely taken as a threat because a great number of the fatalities among protesters have come from being shot in the head, suggesting they have been targeted for death. The announcement suggested that some young people were taking part in protesting as if it was a game, and urged their parents and friends to talk them out of participating.<\/p>\n
In recent days the junta has portrayed the demonstrators as the ones perpetrating violence for their sporadic use of Molotov cocktails. On Saturday, some protesters in Yangon were seen carrying bows and arrows. In contrast, security forces have used live ammunition for weeks against what have still been overwhelmingly unarmed and peaceful crowds.<\/p>\n
The military government does not issue regular casualty counts, and when it has released figures, the totals have been a fraction of what independent parties such as the U.N. have reported. It has said its use of force has been justified to stop what it has called rioting.<\/p>\n
In his speech Saturday, Min Aung Hlaing used the occasion to try to justify the overthrow of Suu Kyi\u2019s government, accusing it of failing to investigate irregularities in last November\u2019s general election, and repeating that his government would hold \u201ca free and fair election\u201d and hand over power afterward.<\/p>\n
The military has claimed there were irregularities in the voting rolls for the last election, which Suu Kyi\u2019s National League for Democracy party won in a landslide.<\/p>\n
The junta detained Suu Kyi on the day it took power, and continues to hold her on minor criminal charges while investigating allegations of corruption against her that her supporters dismiss as politically motivated.<\/p>\n
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch, said Saturday\u2019s events showed that the military, known in Myanmar as the Tatmadaw, should be prosecuted in international courts of law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a day of suffering and mourning for the Burmese people, who have paid for the Tatmadaw\u2019s arrogance and greed with their lives, time and time again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n