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YANGON: Security forces in Myanmar opened fire to disperse protesters at a power plant on Sunday (February 14) and armored vehicles entered major cities as the new army rulers faced a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations that saw hundreds of thousands on the streets. .
In addition to the mass protests across the country, the military rulers were facing a strike by government workers, part of a civil disobedience movement against the February 1 coup that deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
The soldiers were sent to power plants in the northern state of Kachin, sparking a clash with protesters, some of whom said they believed the army intended to cut electricity.
Security forces fired to disperse protesters in front of a plant in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, images broadcast live on Facebook showed, although it was unclear whether they were using rubber bullets or live fire.
Two journalists from The 74 Media, which was broadcasting live from the site of the clash, were arrested along with three other journalists, the news outlet said in a Facebook post.
By late afternoon, armored vehicles appeared in Yangon’s commercial capital Myitkyina and Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, live images broadcast online by local media showed, the first large-scale launch of such vehicles anywhere. the country since the coup.
A man waves a flag next to an armored vehicle during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 14, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS / Stringer)
The government and military could not be reached for comment.
Shortly after midnight, residents of Myanmar reported an internet outage. All four telecommunications networks were inaccessible from about 1 am Monday, they said. In the first days after the coup, the Internet was cut off across the country.
Western embassies – from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and 11 other nations – issued a statement late Sunday calling on security forces to “refrain from violence against protesters and civilians, who are protesting the overthrow. of his legitimate government. “
The US embassy in Myanmar earlier urged US citizens to “shelter in place,” citing reports of the military movements in Yangon. He also warned that there is the possibility of telecommunications outages during the night between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m.
“The internet shutdown at #Myanmar is now in effect again on all major carriers, reportedly until 09:00,” said Alex Warofka, product policy manager for human rights and freedom of expression at Facebook, in a post on Twitter after the internet crash.
“I hope everyone is safe tonight amid very disturbing reports of military activity. #KeepItOn.”
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
In the latest sign of disruption from workers, the Civil Aviation Department said in a statement that many employees had stopped going to work since February 8, causing delays to international flights. He added that four air traffic controllers had been detained on Thursday and had not been heard from since.
One pilot, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said hundreds of department employees were on strike. The soldiers were surrounding Yangon International Airport on Sunday night, he said.
A man on a bicycle takes a photo of an armored vehicle driving on a street during a protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 14, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS / Stringer)
Trains in some parts of the country also stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media reported, while the military deployed soldiers to power plants where they faced angry crowds.
The military government has ordered officials to return to work, threatening to take action. The army has been carrying out mass arrests overnight and on Saturday it was given wide powers to detain people and search private property.
READ: UN Rights Envoy, US Urge Sanctions Against Myanmar Army
But hundreds of railway workers joined the demonstrations in Yangon on Sunday, even as police went to their housing complex on the outskirts of the city to order them to return to work. Police were forced to leave after angry crowds gathered, according to a Myanmar Now live stream.
Richard Horsey, a Myanmar-based analyst with the International Crisis Group, said that the work of many government departments had effectively stopped.
“This has the potential to affect vital functions as well: the military can replace engineers and doctors, but not power grid controllers or central bankers,” he said.
PROTESTS ACROSS THE NATION
Hundreds of thousands of people protested across the country on Sunday.
Engineering students marched through the center of Yangon, the largest city, dressed in white and carrying banners demanding the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since the coup and accused of importing walkie-talkies.
A fleet of highway buses slowly paced the city with their horns blaring, part of the biggest street protests in more than a decade.
A convoy of motorcycles and cars crossed the capital, Naypyitaw. In the southeastern coastal city of Dawei, a band played drums as the crowd marched in the blazing sun. In Waimaw, Kachin State, crowds carried flags and sang revolutionary songs.
A Buddhist monk holding a sign next to an armored vehicle during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 14, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS / Stringer)
Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention will expire on Monday. His lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, could not be reached for comment on what was planned to happen.
More than 384 people have been detained since the coup, the monitoring group Association for Assistance for Political Prisoners said, in a wave of mostly nightly arrests.
Late on Saturday, the military reinstated a law requiring people to report overnight visitors to their homes, allowed security forces to detain suspects and search private property without court approval, and ordered the arrest of known supporters of mass protests.
Fearing arrest raids and common crime, residents came together on Saturday night to patrol the streets in Yangon and the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay.
Concerns about crime increased after the military government announced on Friday that it would release 23,000 prisoners, saying the move was consistent with “establishing a new democratic state with peace, development and discipline.”
