Burma Campaign UK Director Mark Farmaner is quoted in the International Business Times:
“Burma is an authoritarian country and if police were told not to use violence, it is very unlikely they would have behaved this way. Burma has been under authoritarian law for decades so police don’t act without permission. I believe the Burmese government gave police order to beat the protesters.” “The danger is that international aids are helping to modernise an authoritarian regime rather than help transition to democracy, so many people in Burma are questioning EU’s decision to provide training because even if they provide good training, police work for the government, which does not respect human rights. The EU needs to make sure that the training provided will not be then turned against protesters as it happened yesterday.”
