6 killed in Myanmar since ASEAN consensus: Rights group

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Myanmar security forces have killed at least six people since leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Jakarta last week and reached a five-point consensus to de-escalate the country’s post-coup violence, a rights group said on Thursday.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), security forces have also killed at least 756 people since the Feb. 1 military takeover.

Pro-democracy protests have taken place in cities and towns across the Southeast Asian country since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, detained her and other leaders of the National League for Democracy, then cracked down with lethal force on anti-coup protesters.

The ASEAN consensus on Myanmar reached last Saturday indicated agreement in the bloc for immediate cessation of violence, substantive dialogue among all parties involved, mediation by a special envoy or delegations, and the distribution of humanitarian aid.

But the association said the junta’s pledge to “refrain from violence” should never have been believed by ASEAN.

"There is only 'one party' exercising violence in Burma," it said in a report. "Despite the junta’s ongoing violence on a daily basis, the Spring Revolution intensified across the country, including in Yangon and Mandalay."

The group said that the military junta is also banning the free flow of information, saying: "The violation of freedom of the press is emblematic of the diminishing human rights in the country."

*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita