By\u00a0Oliver Slow<\/p>\n
Civil society leaders have condemned a police crackdown on student protesters in Letpadan on March 10 as \u201cinhumane\u201d and called on the international community to closely monitor the government and security forces to ensure there is no repeat of the violence.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe reaction was a clear violation of the international standard of dealing with public groups, and we can see this from the attacks on people who are sick or injured, as well as even medical staff,\u201d U Aung Myo Win, director of Equality Myanmar and a member of the Civil Society Coordination Committee (CSCC), told The Myanmar Times yesterday. \u201cI really denounce the use of excessive force [by the police]because you see no use of violence started by the students.\u201d<\/p>\n U Aung Myo Win said that the authorities had exacerbated an already tense situation by failing to respond adequately to the students\u2019 demands.<\/p>\n Criticism has also been aimed at the European Union, which has been training Myanmar police in crowd management and riot control since 2013.<\/p>\n The EU delegation issued a statement on March 10 condemning the violence and calling for a transparent investigation. The British and United States embassies in Yangon have issued similar statements.<\/p>\n But Daw Khin Lay, director of Triangle Women Support Group, said the international community had not spoken out strongly enough.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not very happy with the international community,\u201d said Daw Khin Lay, who is also a member of the CSCC. \u201cThe foreign governments have been trapped by the government\u2019s propaganda, so they are reluctant to react to what happened at Letpadan. If the government\u2019s behaviour is not checked, then we can see this [violent crackdown]happening again.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the government is saying that they are in a democratic transition, is the behaviour of the police part of a democratic society? It was inhumane \u2013 it wasn\u2019t like beating students, it was like beating animals, and it is particularly shameful after the police training, and the EU needs to review its police training policy.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n