More than 500 protestors, led by Buddhist monks, marched through the streets of central Mandalay to the Chinese consulate on Saturday, to denounce the killing of villager Khin Win at the site of the Latpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division, a project jointly run by China’s state-backed mining firm Wanbao.
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The protestors were shouting slogans such as “We don’t want U Paing!’ [Wanbao’s Burmese partner Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings], and “Hold those guilty to account!” said Moe Htet Nay, an activist from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.
Police blocked the demonstrators from reaching the Chinese consulate, said a DVB reporter covering the event. He said that, after unsuccessfully negotiating with police representatives, the crowd turned around and headed to Mandalay’s central railway station where they continued the rally.
He said that alongside Buddhist monks were activists, students and members of civil society organisations.
A public protest against the fatal shooting was also held in Prome, officially known as Pyay.