Myanmar youth protest outside Chinese embassy against Beijing’s support to military rule

After China disassociated itself from the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar, hundreds of youths gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Myanmar’s Yangon on Sunday, chanting ‘shame on you China’ and demanded China to stop supporting the military coup.

The young protestors were seen holding handmade and printed placards, while demanding China to stop supporting the military. One of the placards read: ‘Stop helping the military’. Another placard read: ‘Myanmar Military dictatorship is ‘Made in China’.

On February 1, Myanmar’s military staged a coup and overthrew the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy (NLD), alleging voter fraud in November 2020 elections.

While there is a global condemnation against the military coup, China has given a muted response, saying it has “noted” the development.

“We have noted what has happened in Myanmar and are in the process of further understanding the situation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing in Beijing on February 1.

Meanwhile, student union leaders from 18 universities have sent an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, urging China to recognise the will of the people of Myanmar to end the military rule and restore the country’s civilian government.

The letter noted that China should not recognise the current military government who forcibly took power on February 1 and detained the country’s top civilian leaders including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.

China and Russia, on February 12, pulled out from a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution regarding the situation in Myanmar due to the military coup. The resolution called for the release of detained persons including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

China distanced itself from the country’s human rights issues, with China’s representative to UNHRC saying, “What happens in Myanmar is essentially Myanmar’s internal affairs.”

That stance is consistent with China’s refusal– along with Russia– to condemn the military takeover during last week’s meeting of the UN Security Council.

Myanmar protesters continued the demonstrations in front of both countries’ embassies, urging them not to support the military regime.