Pope Francis appeals for peace in Myanmar, says 'End the violence!'

In his appeal to Myanmar’s military to end the violence, Pope Francis on Tuesday said that the authorities involved must let dialogue prevail over repression, and harmony over discord, adding that blood resolves nothing. The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State said in a statement released by the Vatican, "Even I kneel on the streets of Myanmar and say stop the violence", referring to the nun that knelt before soldiers asking them to shoot her before they shot at "children".   

Pope’s remarks came as dozens were left dead after violent confrontations broke out between the anti-coup protesters and the military Junta over the weekend, prompting authorities to invoke martial law. In his traditional public comments to the masses worldwide, Francis said “yet again, and with so much sadness,” he felt the need to “evoke the dramatic situation in Myanmar, where so many persons, above all young people, are losing their life to offer hope to their country.” 

Furthermore, he asked the international community to “ensure that the aspirations of the people of Myanmar are not stifled by violence.” The Vatican's Pope continued, “May the young people of that beloved land be granted the hope of a future where hatred and injustice make way for encounter and reconciliation.” He then appealed to the military Junta to release the detained NLD civilian leaders, including Myanmar’s State Counsellor, de facto leader, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. He asked the military forces to reverse the coup and restore democracy. 

“I repeat the wish I expressed a month ago," Pope Francis said, "that the path towards democracy taken in recent years by Myanmar may be resumed through the concrete gesture of the release of the various political leaders imprisoned.”

Political crisis in Myanmar

Earlier, in a revised report, the United Nations said that since the coup, Myanmar's military has brutally shot at 149 peaceful protesters, of which, five succumbed in the police custody. According to the independent broadcaster and news service Democratic Voice of Burma, nearly 74 more protesters were killed in at least 4 cities over the weekend in a fresh escalation of tensions between civilians and armed forces in one of the 'bloodiest days' since the nationwide protests erupted. “Let them kill me right now, let them kill me instead of my son because I can’t take it anymore,” a protesting student’s mother was seen shouting in a video clip posted on Facebook on Sunday as forces launched live bullets on the demonstrators.

 [Image Credit: AP]

 [Image Credit: AP]

 [Image Credit: Twitter/@tzmin]

[Anti-coup protesters test improvised weapons made to fight with government security forces in Yangon. Credit: AP]