About 40 Myanmar police defect to join protesters

Cracks are apparently beginning to show in the ranks of some Myanmar police officers in the face of the widespread protest movement against last week's military takeover.

In remarkable video shot on Wednesday in a small village in Kayah State, eastern Myanmar, a group of around 40 policemen and woman declare their support for the protesters and refuse the exhortations to return to their duty from a senior officer who arrives to confront them.

As he tries to cajole them, a young policeman steps forward and argues with him.

"If we go back with you it will be so different from what we desire," he says. "That's why we have decided not to go with you. Do you all agree?" His comrades shout back "we agree".

While the AP did not independently witness the incident, the cameraman who filmed it provided a detailed and extensive description of what happened.

The group stand behind banners, one of which reads "We don't want dictatorship." In the course of the full video, seen by the AP, they frequently repeat chants popular with the protest movement, calling for democracy.

The officer paces down the line of the recalcitrant men and women.

"We are a team, a troop," he says, "we cannot stay like this for long." He is met with three-fingered salutes in response, the symbol of resistance, adopted from the protest movement in neighbouring Thailand.

Then, just as the two sides are at an impasse, there is a new development: local people arrive to join the policemen and prevent any attempt to force them into returning with their officer.

Reports from the area suggest the men and women were in hiding, Wednesday night.