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About a thousand protesters took part in the march near Yangon University. Many considered raising three fingers as a symbol of resistance to the army’s takeover of power.
“Eliminate the military dictatorship!” Chanted the protesters, many of whom had red ties tied around their heads. This color is associated with the party of the overthrown civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Strong police forces blocked the surrounding roads and had prepared two trucks with water cannons, AFP reporters at the scene saw.
The march was held in Myanmar for the second time this week with the internet turned off. A similar internet blackout was carried out on Monday when Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking leaders of the country were arrested.
The raids on Monday morning disrupted a 10-year experiment in democracy in Myanmar and sparked anger that spread from social media to the streets.
AFP / Scanpix photo / Protests against coups in Myanmar
Internet calls to protest the military coup have fueled increasingly bold acts of disobedience to the new regime, including actions in which many people across the country simultaneously contaminated deafening pots and pans. In Myanmar, this behavior is associated with rites of repulsion from evil spirits.
Some took photos for group photos, holding signs with slogans condemning the coup and protesting raised three fingers. The sign has previously been used by pro-democracy protesters in neighboring Thailand.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the special envoy to Myanmar had made “first contact” with the country’s deputy military leader and called on the junta to return power to its overthrown civilian government.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that the international community unanimously guarantees that the conditions created by this coup are removed,” Guterres told reporters on Friday.
On Saturday, Myanmar’s state media reported that board members had spoken with diplomats the previous day about how to respond to international outrage and asked them to cooperate with the new leaders.
“The government understands the concern of the international community for the continuation of Myanmar’s democratic transition process,” Ko Ko Hlaing, minister of international cooperation, told the media during the meeting.
“Freedom from fear”
As the protest intensified this week, the board ordered communications companies to block users from accessing the social network Facebook, which is very popular in the country and has become perhaps the main means of communication.
On the ground, the Civil Disobedience Movement Forum expanded rapidly, encouraging officials, medical professionals and teachers to show their opposition to the boycott of work in public administration, hospitals and schools.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Protests against coups in Myanmar
On Friday, the military expanded its efforts to curb disobedience by demanding the blocking of other social media platforms as well.
One of them became Twitter, and the company that runs the network said the move was an attack “against the right of the people to have their voice heard.”
Norway-based communications company Telenor said its Myanmar phone company was ordered to shut down access to Twitter on Friday night. The company said it questioned the need for this measure.
AFP pointed to an unverifiable document sent by a ministry in Myanmar, which says that Twitter and Instagram are being used to “spread misunderstandings in society.”
Some more experienced users have been able to get around social media blocking by using Virtual Private Network (VPN) services that hide the location of network devices.
AFP / Scanpix photo / Protests against coups in Myanmar
On Saturday morning, musicians like #WeNeedDemocracy, #HeartheVoiceofMyanmar, and Freedom from Fear, a popular quote from Aung San Suu Kyi, received millions of mentions.
Aung San Suu Kyi remains extremely popular in Myanmar, although her image in western countries has been tarnished by the crackdown on the Rohingya ethnic minority in the north of the country. After the coup, Aung San Suu Kyi no longer appeared in public, but a spokeswoman for her party said on Friday that the ousted leader was under house arrest and was healthy.
US President Joe Biden and other world leaders this week demanded that the generals “step down from power … release their detainees. [žmogaus teisių] advocates, activists and officials, lift telecommunications restrictions and refrain from violence. “
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