LASHIO // To mark the annual Armed Forces Day, the generals paraded in the capital, while their men killed more than 150 people around the country and arrested hundreds of others, on the bloodiest day since the coup. 

The capital of Shan State, at the Chinese border, had already been under intense repression for a month as protesters gathered in front of Lashio University and Lashio Motel almost every day and night. On March 27th, five people were killed, including Mine Min Naung, law student, ethnic Ta’ang activist and frontline protester, who’d been fighting for years for a federal democracy. The 23-year-old protest leader was shot in the back during the morning demonstration and passed away from his injuries on the way to the hospital. 

After his passing, most people were too scared to go out and bomb blasts went off regularly around the city. Conflict between the numerous ethnic militias and the Tatmadaw have dramatically increased, forcing thousands of people to seek refuge in refugee camps, and a hard lockdown has been imposed in the state because of the raging Covid-19 pandemic. 

On March 31^st, the CRPH announced the abolishment of the 2008 Constitution, which favoured the role of the army in politics, and revealed the Federal Democracy Charter.