Protests erupted in Myanmar over the notoriety of the military coup

During previous large-scale marches, passers-by could be seen saluting three fingers in protest of military rule, in clear solidarity with the protesters. Others are seen applauding and watering down both protesters and police, with one witness calling it a way to ease tensions.

Witnesses described the crowd as expanding in size, before appearing to disperse a few hours later. But many small, sporadic protests continued, including one at Yangon University, where several hundred mostly young people gathered and continued chanting.

The country was in the midst of another “national” Internet blackout as the military sought to secure its grip on power, Internet monitoring service Netblocks said on Saturday.

According to Netblocks, real-time network data shows that connectivity has fallen to 54% of normal levels and users are having trouble getting online.

According to the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor Group, which operates Telenor Myanmar, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications on Saturday ordered a nationwide shutdown of the data network.

The group, writing on Twitter, said the ministry had “referred to Myanmar’s telecommunications law, and fake news based on the order, as a reference to the stability of the nation and the interests of the people.”

While voice calls and SMS remain active, the Telenor Group said it was concerned about Internet shutdowns, but said Telenor Myanmar is a local company and is therefore “bound by local law and to handle this irregular and difficult situation.” is needed.”

“We regret the impact the closure has had on the people of Myanmar,” Telenor said.

Witnesses told CNN that the internet connection was interrupted on Saturday, although some people were able to stream videos from the march in Yangon on social media platforms.

The lack of connectivity follows steps to block access to social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as many leading local news outlets.

Detention of an Australian citizen

Suu Kyi’s The Australian adviser Sean Turnell told Reuters she had been detained on Saturday. “I think you’ll hear about this soon, but I’m being detained,” he told Reuters reporters in a message.

With a smile emoji he said, “Anything can be blamed, but it doesn’t guarantee I’m good and strong, and no one is guilty.”

Turnell Macquarie is a professor of economics at the university, but according to his page on the university’s website, he is currently on leave while working as a senior economic adviser to the Myanmar government.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Australia’s foreign affairs and trade department said [DFAT] Expressed concern over detention of Australian citizen.

“The Australian Government is deeply concerned about reports that Australian Australians and other foreign nationals have been arbitrarily detained in Myanmar,” he wrote.

“In particular, we have serious concerns about a stationer who has been detained at a police station.”

The DFAT said it had “called the Myanmar ambassador and noted the Australian government’s deep concern about the incident.”

Sudden seizure of power

For more than a decade, Myanmar – also known as Burma – has been ruled by a gradual military regime that plunged the country into poverty and brutally suppressed any divisions. During that time thousands of critics, activists, journalists, academics, and artists were regularly imprisoned and tortured.

Suu Kyi, a recently ousted civilian leader, sought international fame during her decades-long struggle against military rule. When his party, the NLDA, won a landslide victory in the 201st elections and formed the first civilian government, many pro-democracy supporters expressed hope that it would end its military rule and hope that Myanmar’s reforms would continue.

The NLD is reported to have won a more decisive victory in the November 2020 general election, given five years in power and shattered the hopes of some military figures that the opposition party backed them could take power democratically.

Sudden seizure of power as the new parliament opened and the alleged election irregularities erupted several months later between the civilian government and the powerful army known as Tatmadaw. The country’s election commission has repeatedly denied voter fraud.

Hundreds of NLD legislators were detained on Monday in the capital, Naypyidaw, where they had traveled to take seats. The junta has since removed 24 ministers and deputies from the government and named 11 of its own allies as replacements who will take over their roles in the new administration.

Analysts have suggested that the uprising is more likely to take place with serious personal claims of voter fraud than with the personal ambitions of army chief Min Yong Healing, who resigned this year, and an attempt to reassert military power.

“Faced with forced retirement in a few months, which did not lead to a civic leadership role, and amid a global demand that he face criminal charges in The Hague, they were drawn,” said Jared Jenser, an international human rights lawyer who previously served as a pro. Was. Suu Kyi Bono’s advisor, wrote for CNN this week.

Monday’s uprising was condemned internationally, with the United States urging Myanmar’s military leaders to “immediately relinquish their seized power, free their detained workers and officials, lift all telecommunications sanctions, and refrain from violence against civilians.” “