Sister Ann Roza Nu Tawng pleads with armed riot officers in Myanmar. Photo / Twitter
Sister Ann Roza Nu Tawng pleads with armed riot officers in Myanmar. Photo / Twitter
Arms outstretched, her white robes trailing on the dusty ground as she knelt in front of armed riot officers, Sister Ann Roza Nu Tawng was prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice as she pleaded with them not to harm protesters marching on the streets to oppose the Myanmar coup.
In the striking image taken on Monday, pictured above, three officers stand over the 45-year-old nun dispassionately, while two of their colleagues also bend down on their knees, hands clasped in a prayer gesture that offers a glint of mercy.
But a later picture, below, reveals the sister's appeals for restraint were tragically in vain.
Her face, visible for the first time, is contorted with tears and grief as she once more stretches out her arms – this time towards the body of a young man lying face down in the street, blood pooling on the ground from a gunshot wound to the head.
MYITKYINA - Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng pleads with Myanmar police to refrain from violence during the peaceful protests. Police officers knelt down on their knees, hands held in prayer position, to discuss with her. Source: Myitkyina News Journal. pic.twitter.com/gpPMajZsLK
At least two protesters were killed on Monday in Myitkyina, capital city of the northern Kachin state. Eyewitnesses said they were taking part in a rally when police fired stun grenades and tear gas. Several people were then hit by gunfire from buildings nearby.
"I told the police not to beat and shoot the protesters. I begged them many times. But the police said they will need to remove the barricades to stop the protest and that they have to do their duty. They also knelt down to me and say they have to do it," Sister Ann Roza told the Telegraph.
"Then they started to use the tear gas and I started to feel dizzy and struggled to breathe. I saw the man falling down on the street and I went to see him but he passed away. I'm not afraid of losing my life. I just wanted to help people. But the police were so brutal."
NEW 🚨 A nun went down on her knees in front of policemen in a northern Myanmar town and pleaded with them to stop shooting protesters agitating against military coup.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
The plucky nun has emerged as one of the everyday heroes facing down the ruthless forces of the junta as the world wavers in its response to the February 1 coup. Monday's intervention was not the first time she has risked her life to protect the public.
On February 28 – one of the bloodiest days of the protests, when 18 people died – she was captured in astonishing footage, below, placing herself in between two police trucks and a row of two dozen officers - visors down and shields drawn - and the unarmed protesters behind her.
According to UCA news, she told the officers: "Just shoot me if you want to," adding that "the protesters have no weapons and they are just showing their desire peacefully."
The image of her tearfully pleading with the security forces not to open fire was widely compared to the iconic image from China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown of a man stopping a column of tanks with his body.
Riot police officers move in to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo / AP
Sister Ann Roza, who works in a clinic, where she has treated the wounded from the "war zone" conditions on the streets, said she was motivated by love for those who had nobody else to protect them.
"Even though I'm a sister, I'm one of the people of Myanmar. I feel the same pain with all the people when I see the brutal crackdown. I feel sad when they feel sad. I always think about how I can help people," she said.
"Whenever I hear the news about protesters being killed by security forces, I cry. I feel empathy for their family."
In the dangerous chaos of February 28, fearless in the face of brute force, she used the most powerful means of resistance available to her.
"I decided to stop them by kneeling down because I believe the power of love will work and God will protect us."
