Yangon – Kneeling in front of them in the dust of a city in northern Myanmar, Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng begged a group of heavily armed police officers to spare the “children” and take their lives. The image of the Catholic nun in a simple white custom, with outstretched hands, pleading with the forces of the new junta in the country as they prepared to fight a protest, went viral and won praise in the majority-Buddhist country.
“I knelt down … asking them not to shoot and torture children, but to shoot and kill me,” she told AFP on Tuesday.
MYITKYINA NEWSPAPER / Reuters
Her act of bravery in the city of Myitkyina took place on Monday, as Myanmar struggles with the chaotic consequences of the February 1 military expulsion of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
As the protests calling for the return of democracy continued, the junta continued he constantly intensified his use of force, using tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and live rounds.
“The world was collapsing”
Protesters took to the streets of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, wearing hats and house shields on Monday.
As police began to crowd around them, Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng and two other nuns asked her to leave.
“The police were trying to arrest them and I was worried about the children,” she said. At that moment, the 45-year-old nun fell to her knees.
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Moments later, as she begged for restraint, police began firing on the crowd of protesters behind her.
“The children panicked and ran ahead … I couldn’t do anything, but I was praying for God to save and help the children,” she said.
First she saw a man shot in the head and fall dead in front of her – then she felt the sting of tear gas.
“I felt like the world was falling apart,” she said. “I’m very sad it happened while I was begging them.”
MYITKYINA NEWSPAPER / Reuters
A local rescue team confirmed to AFP that two men were shot at the scene during Monday’s clash, although it did not confirm whether live rounds or rubber bullets were used.
On Tuesday, one of the deceased, Zin Min Htet, was placed in a glass coffin and transported on a golden camel covered with white and red flowers.
The mourners raised three fingers in a symbol of resistance, as a musical ensemble of brass instrument singers, drummers and a bagpipe in light white uniforms led the funeral procession.
“I thought I was already dead”
Kachin, the northernmost state in Myanmar, is home to the Kachin ethnic group and the site of years of conflict between armed and armed ethnic groups.
Tens of thousands fled their homes to displacement camps across the state – and among the organizations that helped them were Christian groups.
Monday was not Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng’s first meeting with security forces – on February 28 she made a similar plea for mercy, walking slowly to the police in riot gear, getting on her knees and begging them to stop.
“I thought I was dead on February 28,” she said the day she decided to stand in front of the armed police.
On Monday, she was joined by her fellow sisters and the local bishop, who surrounded her as she pleaded for mercy for the protesters.
“We were there to protect our sister and our people, because she was risking her life,” Sister Mary John Paul told AFP.
The city has seen frequent crackdowns by authorities since the coup, including a violent dispersal of peaceful teachers last month that sent several hiding.
So far, more than 60 people have been killed in anti-coup demonstrations across the country, according to the monitoring group of the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners.
The fear is deep for Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, but she said she must be brave and will continue to support the “children.”
“I can’t sit and watch without doing anything, seeing what’s going on in front of my eyes, while Myanmar is still saddened,” she said.