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YANGON (REUTERS, AFP) – Police in the Myanmar capital on Monday (February 8) warned anti-coup protesters to leave or be forcibly dispersed, according to media and a live broadcast of the events.
Three lines of armed police could be seen across the road in Naypyitaw and the trunk of the water cannon was mobilized.
The protesters chanted slogans against the coup and told police that they should serve the people, not the military junta that took power last week.
Police had previously used water cannons against anti-coup protesters in the capital, as the demonstrations continued for the third day in a row against the removal and arrest by the military of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi a week ago.
An AFP photographer saw two people injured, and images of the incident on social media showed two men collapsing after being doused with water allegedly laced with chemicals.
Police appeared to stop using the water cannon after protesters appealed to them, but the demonstration continued.
Thousands of anti-coup protesters marched in Myanmar towns and cities on Monday, witnesses said.
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.
In the largest city of Yangon, a group of saffron-robed monks marched at the forefront of Monday’s protest with workers and students. More than 1,000 people gathered in a park in the middle of the morning.
Multi-colored Buddhist flags flew alongside red banners the color of Ms. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), witnesses said.
“Free our leaders, respect our votes, reject the military coup,” read a poster. Other posters said “Save democracy” and “Say no to dictatorship.” Many protesters wore black.
“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 larger city. 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.”
“This is a working day, but we are not going to work even if they cut our wages,” a protester, a 28-year-old garment factory worker, Hnin Thazin, told AFP.
Police in the capital Naypyitaw fired short bursts from a water cannon at a group of protesters who had gathered on Monday, video from the scene showed.
State media noted a possible action against the protests in the first comment on any government channel, saying the public wanted to get rid of the “evildoers.”
“We, all the people who value justice, freedom, equality, peace and security, not only refuse to accept lawless evildoers, but also request that they be prevented and eliminated through cooperation,” he said MRTV television station in a comment. Although it was not attributed to any authority or group, it was later read on a military-owned network.
In Myanmar’s second largest city, Mandalay, more than a thousand had also gathered by midmorning.
And hundreds were seen hanging out in the capital of Naypyitaw, riding motorcycles and honking car horns, while large demonstrations were also reported in other cities.
The protests that swept the country on Sunday were the largest since the “Saffron Revolution” led by Buddhist monks in 2007, which helped push for democratic reforms that were disrupted by the February 1 coup.
“Protesters from all corners of Yangon, come out peacefully and join the popular gathering,” activist Ei Thinzar Maung urged his followers on Facebook, using VPN networks to mobilize protesters despite an attempt by the junta to ban the social network.
Thousands of people also marched in the southeastern coastal city of Dawei and in the capital of Kachin state in the far north, the massive crowds reflecting a rejection of military rule by various ethnic groups, including those who have been critical of the Ms. Suu Kyi and accused their government of neglecting minorities.
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. .
Reuters has not been able to reach the board for comment on the protests, and state television has not mentioned them.
Calls for work stoppages
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.
Activists Maung Saungkha and Thet Swe Win posted on their Facebook pages that the police had come looking for them at their homes, but that they were not there and were still free. 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 brought Ms. Suu Kyi to prominence.
He 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 military rule.
Suu Kyi, 75, has been held incommunicado since Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing took power in the early hours of February 1. She faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies and is being held by police for investigation until February 15. lawyer said he has not been allowed to see her.
Australia, which has condemned the coup, demanded the immediate release of a citizen who worked as an economic adviser to Ms Suu Kyi’s government and was arrested over the weekend.
The United Nations Security Council called for the release of Suu Kyi and other detainees last week and the United States is considering specific sanctions.
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,” United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Thomas Andrews said on Twitter.
Myanmar is rising to release all detainees and reject the military dictatorship once and for all. We are with you.”
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