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YANGON: Myanmar saw its biggest protests against the coup thus far on Saturday (Feb 6) with young protesters taking to the streets to denounce the country’s new military regime, despite a nationwide internet blackout aimed at stifling a growing chorus of popular dissent.
Some 3,000 protesters gathered on a road near Yangon University, most raising the three-finger salute that has come to symbolize resistance to the army’s takeover of power.
In the first such demonstration since the generals took power on Monday, activists chanted, “military dictator, fail, fail; democracy, win, win,” and held up posters that read “Against the military dictatorship.” Passersby offered them food and water.
Many in the crowd wore red, the color of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the Nov. 8 election overwhelmingly, a result the generals have refused to acknowledge, claiming fraud.
READ: UN chief supports the right of the Myanmar people to peacefully protest against the military coup
READ: US leads condemnation for prosecution of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi after coup
As protests mounted and activists called people on social media to join the march, the country’s internet crashed.
Monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory reported a “nationwide internet blackout,” and said on Twitter that connectivity had dropped to 54 percent of normal levels. Witnesses reported a shutdown of Wi-Fi and mobile data services.
The board did not respond to requests for comment. He has tried to silence dissent by temporarily blocking Facebook and extended a crackdown on social media to Twitter and Instagram on Saturday.
Protesters raise the three-finger salute during a demonstration against Myanmar’s military coup in Yangon on Saturday, February 6, 2021 (Photo: AFP / STR).
Norwegian mobile phone company Telenor Asa said authorities had ordered ISPs to deny access to Twitter and Instagram “until further notice.”
Many had circumvented the ban on sites like Facebook by using virtual private networks to hide their locations, but the more widespread disruption of mobile data services would severely limit access to independent news and information.
“The Internet is already down but we will not stop raising our voices,” wrote a Twitter user under the pseudonym Maw Htun Aung. “Let us fight peacefully for democracy and freedom. Let us fight until the last minute for our future.”
Myanmar civil society organizations called on Internet providers and mobile networks to defy the board’s orders blocking Internet access.
“By complying with their directives, their companies are essentially legitimizing military authority, despite international condemnation from this very body,” a coalition of groups said in a statement.
READ: Operations resume for many Singaporean companies in Myanmar as they closely monitor the situation
READ: Police warn against plans to protest in Singapore over the situation in Myanmar
Telenor said before the Internet shutdown that it was legally obliged to follow the order to block some social networks, but “highlighted the contradiction of the directive with international human rights law.”
Amnesty International’s deputy regional campaign manager, Ming Yu Hah, said shutting down the internet amid a coup and the COVID-19 pandemic was an “egregious and reckless decision.”
Army chief Min Aung Hlaing took power on allegations of fraud, although the electoral commission says it has found no evidence of widespread irregularities in the November vote.
The junta announced a state of emergency for one year and promised to hand over power after new elections, without giving a deadline.
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE
The inauguration sparked international condemnation, with a call from the United Nations Security Council for the release of all detainees and targeted sanctions under consideration by Washington.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, has not been seen in public since the coup. He spent about 15 years under house arrest during a fight against previous boards before the troubled democratic transition began in 2011.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer and the ousted president Win Myint said they were being held in their homes and that he could not meet with them because they were still being questioned.
Aung San Suu Kyi is facing charges for illegally importing six walkie-talkies, while Win Myint is accused of disobeying COVID-19 restrictions.
Sean Turnell, an Australian economic adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, said in a message to Reuters on Saturday that he was in detention.
Comment: Myanmar’s military never intended to give up power
Saturday’s protest is the first sign of street unrest in a country with a history of bloody military crackdowns on protesters. There were also protests against the coup in Melbourne, Australia, and the Taiwanese capital Taipei on Saturday.
A civil disobedience movement has been building in Myanmar all week, with doctors and teachers among those who refuse to work, and every night people banging on pots and pans in anger.
In addition to the 150 arrests in the wake of the coup reported by human rights groups, local media said that some 30 people have been detained due to the noise of the protests.
The United States is considering the possibility of imposing targeted sanctions on individuals and entities controlled by the Myanmar military.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressured senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in a phone call on Friday to condemn the coup, the State Department said.
Commentary: ASEAN can do better in Myanmar this time
China, which has close ties to the Myanmar military, joined the consensus on the Security Council statement, but has not condemned the military’s takeover of power and said countries must act in the interests of stability its neighbor Myanmar.
UN envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, condemned the coup in a call with Myanmar’s military deputy chief Soe Win and called for the immediate release of all those detained, a UN spokesperson said.
The generals have few overseas interests that would be vulnerable to international sanctions, but the army’s extensive business investments could suffer if foreign partners leave, as Japanese beverage company Kirin Holdings said on Friday.
The US pressure group Human Rights Watch called for the lifting of Internet restrictions, the release of detainees and an end to threats against journalists.
“A news and information blackout by coup leaders cannot hide their politically motivated arrests and other abuses,” said Asia Director Brad Adams.
