"I No Longer Have Freedom": The Myanmar Nun Who Faced Down A Junta

A photo of the Catholic nun in a simple white habit, her hands spread, pleading with junta forces in the early weeks of mass protests against the putsch amid chaos and shooting, went viral in Myanmar and made headlines around the world.

Almost a year after she knelt in the dust to beg Myanmar police not to shoot anti-coup demonstrators, Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng still shakes at the memory of the day she says God saved her.

A photo of the Catholic nun in a simple white habit, her hands spread, pleading with junta forces in the early weeks of mass protests against the putsch, went viral in the majority-Buddhist country and made headlines around the world.

Two people at the demonstration in early March in northern Kachin state were shot dead, with Sister Ann Rose later rushing an injured child to hospital.

In the confusion and chaos she had no idea the photo had been taken, or the impact it would have, she told AFP.