Myanmar Police Beat Student Protesters Heading for Yangon

Police arrest a student protester at the protest site in Letpadan, Bago division, Myanmar, on March 10, 2015. EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING

By Kyaw Lynn

LETPADAN, MYANMAR (DPA) — At least 30 demonstrators were taken away in trucks Tuesday as Myanmar police cracked down on students marching to the commercial capital Yangon to protest a recently passed education law.

Hundreds of police beat student demonstrators at a protest camp in Letpadan, 145 kilometres north of Yangon. A group of around 50 people clashed with police outside the camp.

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Student protesters shout slogans at a demonstration in Letpadan, Bago division, about 145 kilometres north of Yangon, Myanmar, on March 10, 2015. EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING

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Students have been marching from Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, and two other cities toward the commercial capital of Yangon since January, demanding the education law ne changed or scrapped.

Early Tuesday, authorities told the protesters they could march to Yangon under the precondition that they would not raise flags or shout slogans while marching.

Student protesters rejected the offer and attempted to march through a police barrier.

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In the early afternoon, police began to crack down on the protesters and others gathered outside the camp.

 

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