Leaked Video of Myanmar Military Men Brutally Beating up a Civilian

By Sally Shakkour

A viral video, widely shared on the internet, is believed to be of Myanmar military men beating up a civilian for participating in the national-wide protests against the latest coup.

The 14-second video shows a group of military men attacking a man in civilian clothes; he  helplessly tries to avoid them and escape but ends up falling on the ground and surrenders to them. 

Another Twitter user shared the video saying: “Peaceful protesters were brutally beaten by Myanmar soldiers and police at Tagondai roundabout, Mandalay,Yesterday. Feb15 2021:
Violence against Humanity.”

Loads of leaked videos and photos have emerged on Twitter under the hashtag “#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar” after the coup, despite cutting down the internet across the country.

In a smart move, some protesters have written down huge slogans on Myanamr’s roads which read from above “We want democracy, Save Myanmar, and Respect our votes.”

In Yangon, which was also known as Rangoon, the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar, people held the 'Broken car' engine movement pretending their cars were broken to shut down major highways, bridges, roads, and intersections.

On February 1st, 2020, Myanmar's military conducted a successful coup against the president and the government. President Aung San Suu Kyi and several other officials of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were detained as the military seized control of the power.

Military troops were deployed across the country and a night-time curfew is in force; as Myanmar declared a one-year state of emergency.

Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters rallied in the streets on Wednesday with the biggest demonstrations since the coup, while the first court hearing of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi began earlier than scheduled and her lawyer was banned from attending.

According to Bloomberg, President’s lawyer Khin Maung Zaw revealed that Suu Kyi appeared in front of the court via video link without representation. The hearing had earlier been scheduled for Wednesday, but the court has yet to recognize him as her attorney and he has been barred from seeing her since she was arrested.

In fact this is not the first time the Myanmar military seizes power. In 1962 and under the leadership of Ne Win, the military controlled the country for 26 years. Then, nationwide protests broke out in the country in 1988. Dubbed the 8888 Uprising, the civil unrest was sparked by economic mismanagement, leading Ne Win to step down.