Buddhist monks have said they will protest weekly in Yangon following the death sentences handed down to two Myanmar migrant workers for rape and murder on a Thai island.
A march outside the Thai embassy ended peacefully yesterday, after monks chanted slogans asking for the release of Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun (aka Wai Phyo).
The pair stand accused of murdering British backpackers David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, who was raped, on Koh Tao Island. They were sentenced to death on Christmas Eve, after a trial marred by accusations of police incompetence and torture.
The only response from Myanmar authorities has been made by commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who asked Thailand to review the case.
Nationalist monk network The Committee to Protect Race and Religion, or Ma Ba Tha, has led protests and asked the National League for Democracy to comment publicly.
About 30 demonstrators, including members of the Nationalist Monks’ Union and Myanmar National Network, congregated on Pyay Road yesterday but police blocked them from proceeding to the public park at Pyi Thu Yin Pyin.
“The police wanted to restrict our protest to the Bo Sein Mann ground in Tamwe township and near Kyaikkasan Stadium,” protest leader U Parmaukka told the Myanmar Times.
“But we have already demonstrated there and we wanted to bring our protest to wider attention.”
Myanmar National Network chair Ko Win Ko Ko Latt said the group planned to take action weekly in accordance with the Assembly and Procession Law.
“We will abide by the law and we insist on our right as citizens to make a peaceful protest,” he told the Times. “In return, the police have a duty to respect our right and provide security for the demonstration.”
