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Myanmar’s military junta has declared martial law in various parts of the country. The rulers also declared that they were “different” from the previous junta government that had ruled the country for nearly 50 years. In his first televised speech since the coup, Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing justified the inauguration with “electoral fraud”. Despite warnings from army leaders, tens of thousands of people protested the coup for the third day in a row.
For the first time since the coup, the police used water cannons against protesters in the capital, Naypyidaw. At least two people were injured. The protesters demanded the return to democracy and the release of the de facto prime minister, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested and other prisoners.
In the face of growing resistance, Hlaing justified the coup by saying that there had been fraud in the November parliamentary elections. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party had won a landslide election. The army wanted to return to power after the state of emergency and after “free and fair elections,” Hlaing said. The general also said that the Southeast Asian country continues to welcome foreign investment. He also announced a lifting of the crown measures.
The general strike began at the national level
The military had previously read a statement on state broadcaster MRTV that any opposition to the generals was illegal. There were violations of the law and threats of violence by groups under the “pretext of democracy and human rights,” he said.
After the protests spread massively over the weekend, a nationwide general strike began on Monday. In the economic metropolis and former capital of Rangoon, textile workers, civil servants and railway employees stopped working. They took to the streets and paralyzed traffic. By some estimates, the number of participants was several hundred thousand people.
Large rallies took place in other parts of the country, from Muse on the Chinese border to the southern cities of Dawei and Hpa-an. More demonstrations are expected on Tuesday.
Due to the protests, the rulers imposed martial law in various neighborhoods in the two largest cities, Rangoon and Mandalay, as well as in other parts of the country. Therefore, people are prohibited from demonstrating or gathering in groups of more than five people. A night curfew was also imposed from 8:00 pm to 4:00 am
In light of the developments, the UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday on the situation in Myanmar. This happened at the request of Britain and the EU, as announced by the Council.
The Pope calls for the “immediate” release of civilian leaders
The United States government emphasized its solidarity with the people of Myanmar. The United States supported the people of the country and upheld their right to “demonstrate peacefully in support of the democratically elected government,” said a spokesman for the US State Department. Attempts by the US government to contact Suu Kyi have been rejected, according to the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the Pope called for the “immediate” release of the country’s civil leaders as a “sign of encouragement for sincere dialogue for the good of the country.”
A week ago, the military seized power in Myanmar and overthrew the civilian government. The de facto head of government and Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were arrested. The coup ended a decade of democratic change in the Southeast Asian country.
