[ad_1]
YANGON: Tens of thousands of people joined a third day of nationwide demonstrations on Monday (February 8) against the removal by the military of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi a week ago.
Calls to join the protests and endorse a civil disobedience campaign have grown louder and more organized since last Monday’s coup, which drew widespread international condemnation.
“This is a working day, but we are not going to work even if our wages are cut,” said a protester, Hnin Thazin, a 28-year-old garment factory worker.
“We healthcare workers are leading this campaign to urge all government personnel to join the (civil disobedience movement),” said Aye Misan, a nurse at a government hospital at a protest in the city over big of Yangon. “Our message to the public is that our goal is to completely abolish this military regime and we have to fight for our destiny.”
Police in the capital Naypyidaw fired brief bursts from a water cannon at a group of thousands of protesters who had gathered on Monday, video from the scene showed.
READ: Myanmar police fire a water cannon at Naypyidaw protesters
Thousands of people also marched in the southeastern coastal city of Dawei and the capital of Kachin state in the far north, the massive crowds reflecting a rejection of the military rule by various ethnic groups, including those who have been critical of Aung. San Suu Kyi and accused his government. of neglecting minorities.
In Yangon, a group of saffron-robed monks marched at the forefront of protests with workers and students. They waved multi-colored Buddhist flags alongside red banners the color of the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Aung San Suu Kyi, which won a landslide election in November.
Buddhist monks march with protesters during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 8, 2021. (Photo: AFP / STR)
“Free our leaders, respect our votes, reject the military coup,” read a poster. Other posters said “Save democracy” and “Say no to dictatorship.”
The weekend protests were the largest since the “Saffron Revolution” led by Buddhist monks in 2007, which helped drive democratic reforms that were disrupted by the February 1 coup.
Protesters holding an image with an X on the face of Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, Major General Min Aung Hlaing, confront lines of riot police in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on February 8, 2021 (Photo: AP).
So far, the gatherings have been peaceful, unlike the bloody crackdowns during the earlier widespread protests in 1988 and 2007. A convoy of military trucks was seen passing into Yangon late on Sunday, raising fears that this could change. .
Commentary: Myanmar Coup Raises Biden’s First Foreign Policy Test in Southeast Asia
WORK STOP CALLS
The government lifted a one-day internet ban over the weekend that sparked even more anger in a country that feared a return to isolation and even greater poverty before the transition to democracy began in 2011.
In addition to the street protests, a civil disobedience campaign has started, first with doctors and joined by some teachers and other government workers.
“We ask government personnel from all departments not to attend work as of Monday,” said activist Min Ko Naing, a veteran of the 1988 demonstrations that unveiled Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time.
Protesters march near Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 8, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Protesters hold up posters with the image of the detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 8, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Thu Ye Aung).
Aung San Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for democracy and spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during decades of fighting to end nearly half a century of army rule.
The 75-year-old has been held incommunicado since Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing took power in the early hours of February 1 to counter what the military said was widespread election fraud. Myanmar’s electoral commission has rejected these claims.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces charges for illegally importing six walkie-talkies and is being held by the police for investigation until February 15. Her lawyer said she was not allowed to see her.
READ: UN chief supports the right of the Myanmar people to peacefully protest against the military coup
The United Nations Security Council called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees last week and the United States is considering specific sanctions.
Australia, which has condemned the coup, demanded the immediate release of a citizen who worked as an economic adviser to the Aung San Suu Kyi government and was arrested over the weekend.
Protesters hold large three-finger salute clippings aboard a vehicle in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb. 8, 2021 (Photo: AP).
Protesters hold up posters denouncing the military during an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon on February 8, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Thu Ye Aung).
Comment: Myanmar’s military never intended to give up power
The United Nations continued to press for the restoration of democracy.
“Protesters in Myanmar continue to inspire the world as actions spread across the country,” Thomas Andrews, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, said on Twitter. “Myanmar is standing up to free all those who have been detained and reject the military dictatorship once and for all. We are with you.”
