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Myanmar’s military junta on Monday established curfews and other restrictions in major cities, and released the decrees as peaceful public protests across the country drew hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding the reinstatement of the deposed Aung San Suu Kyi and his elected government.
Massive weekend protests that drew tens of thousands in dozens of cities were followed by larger crowds on Monday in Yangon, Mandalay, and the capital Naypyitaw, where police fired a water cannon to disperse crowds, injuring one person before protesters blocked the vehicles that were watering them. .
After a week of silence after the coup on February 1 removed Aung San Suu Kyi and her government, arresting her and dozens of officials, the junta issued decrees and the coup leader and the chief of the junta , Major General Min Aung Hlaing appeared on state television to repeat the Election fraud claims that the army has used to justify the military takeover.
A board statement posted on state MRTV and on the military information committee website banned gatherings of more than five people, as well as motorized processions, while imposing a curfew from 8:00 pm to 4:00 pm: 00 am, municipality by municipality, in parts of Yangon and Mandalay, the largest and second largest cities in the country.
“Marching on foot or in vehicles, inciting the public, destroying or causing disturbances are prohibited in Chan Aye Thar Zan Township,” said a warning broadcast in Mandalay.
The protesters call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from detention and reject the new military government headed by Major General Min Aung Hlaing.
In his first public speech since the coup, Min Aung Hlaing said on Monday that the military had to take command because the authorities had made no attempt to address allegations of election fraud raised by the military and its allies since the elections of August 8. of November.
He said that the military government “is absolutely not going to change foreign policy, administrative policy or economic policy” and that it will “continue on the same political path” as the overthrown government.
Another election at the end of the one-year state of emergency and “we will protect and establish a real and disciplined democratic system,” Min Aung Hlaing said in a 20-minute televised speech that did not mention Aung San Suu Kyi or the swelling. nationwide protests against the coup.
“After the emergency authority and the term provided by the constitution, we will hold free and fair elections in accordance with the 2008 constitution and hand over power to the elected government in accordance with democratic rules and values,” said Min Aung Hlaing. in his speech.
MRTV on Monday made its first mention of the protests, describing them as a threat to stability in the country of 54 million people.
“Democracy can be destroyed if there is no discipline,” said a statement from the Ministry of Information, read on MRTV. “We will have to take legal action to prevent acts that violate the stability of the state, public safety and the rule of law.”
In Yangon, student protesters led crowds to march toward the city hall, where police and vehicles with water cannons were blocking the roads, witnesses told RFA.
In a counter-protest in support of the military coup in Yangon, around 500 people rode in cars waving the national flag and “STOP” signs.
In Mandalay, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through the main streets, according to witnesses. There are also widespread protests in the population centers of The states of Mon, Kayin, Shan and Rakhine, as well as the regions of Tanintharyi and Irrawaddy, the sources told RFA.
Monday’s crowds dwarfed those of a 2007 campaign against the military junta led by Buddhist monks and, according to some accounts, rivaled those of the 1988 mass pro-democracy uprising that brought Aung San Suu Kyi to prominence. Both pro-democracy movements were suppressed by the military with lethal force and massive arrests.
Aung San Suu Kyi government ministers remain under house arrest or in detention, and top ministers from Yangon, Mandalay and Kayin states are released and detained for a second time after criticizing the coup.
The Political Prisoner Assistance Association, a watchdog group, said Monday that 170 people have been arrested in connection with the military coup with only 18 released. Most are politicians, he said.
“They treated us like criminals. We are members of the family of elected government officials, ”said Khin Mi Kywe, wife of Yangon Region Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein, who was arrested for the second time on February 5.
“Today it is particularly important because government employees will protest by not working. I will go out and join the people in the protest. We can resist the military regime only when we act in unity, ”he told the RFA Myanmar Service.
Reported by RFA Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Kyaw Min Htun. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
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