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YANGON: Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters returned to the streets in force on Wednesday (February 17), staging the largest demonstrations since troops were deployed across the country to quell opposition to the new military government.
Much of the country has been in open rebellion since the army deposed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from the government earlier this month and indicted her under an obscure import law.
Tens of thousands demonstrated in Yangon, some blocking roads with vehicles to prevent security forces from moving through the country’s largest city.
“We have to fight to the end,” Nilar, a 21-year-old student who asked not to use her real name, told AFP.
“We need to show our unity and strength to end the military rule. People must take to the streets.”
Protesters gather at an intersection near Sule Pagoda to protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
In the second-largest city of Mandalay, police and soldiers broke up a protest that had blocked the railway, two sources told AFP.
Yan Naing, a member of a local emergency rescue service, said security forces opened fire, although it was unclear whether rubber bullets or actual rounds were used.
Crowds on Wednesday defied the regime’s violent efforts to put up resistance, including the use of tear gas and rubber bullets, following nationwide protests and a disobedience campaign encouraging officials to strike.
The protests of the previous two days had been notably less since troops were deployed around Yangon at the weekend.
On Wednesday, there were anti-coup demonstrations across Myanmar, from the remote mountainous region of Chin State to a small town in the Irrawaddy Delta, where marching protesters held up posters of Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Outside the administrative capital, Naypyidaw, tens of thousands of people marched through the logging town of Pyinmana carrying signs reading “Help Myanmar.”
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews warned that the entry of soldiers into Yangon, as reported, could lead to the situation spiraling out of control.
“We could be on the verge of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar,” he said.
A young woman remained in critical condition in Naypyidaw after being shot in the head last week.
A riot policeman stands guard outside Yangon City Hall during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Dozens of supporters gathered at the scene where he was shot Wednesday for a prayer session, carrying posters of it.
The army said a police officer had been killed in Mandalay after a clash with protesters on Sunday, adding in a statement: “Those who committed illegal actions against the police officer will be dealt with as necessary.”
NEW CHARGE FOR AUNG SAN SUU KYI
The army has justified its seizure of power by alleging widespread electoral fraud in the November elections overwhelmingly won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.
Following her arrest in a dawn raid on February 1, Aung San Suu Kyi was charged with possessing unregistered walkie-talkies found at her home.
A riot policeman stands guard outside the Yangon City Hall during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
His lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP on Tuesday that Aung San Suu Kyi was also charged with violating the country’s disaster management law. No further details of that charge have been released.
The disaster management law has also been used against deposed President Win Myint for an election campaign event that the military government says broke coronavirus restrictions.
His lawyer added that Suu Kyi and Win Myint, with whom he has not yet had contact, were expected to appear via video link during a trial on March 1.
Protesters gather at an intersection to protest the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
In a further sign of the military’s efforts to quell the protest movement, state broadcaster MRTV said arrest warrants had been issued for several popular actors, directors and a singer.
They are accused of using their “popularity and fame” to encourage people to join the civil disobedience movement against the military government, MRTV said.
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And the country suffered a fourth night in a row of “curfew-style internet shutdowns” starting at 1 a.m. Thursday, according to NetBlocks, a Britain-based group that oversees internet outages across the world.
Demonstrators display a banner with an image of the deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
He said that Internet connectivity had dropped to just 21 percent of normal levels.
‘IT’S NOT WHAT CHINA WANTS TO SEE’
More than 450 people have been arrested since the coup, according to the monitoring group of the Association for the Assistance to Political Prisoners.
Western powers and the United Nations have repeatedly condemned the leaders of Myanmar’s new military administration, which insists they have assumed power legally.
China had not initially criticized the coup, which Chinese state media described as a “cabinet shakeup.”
However, Beijing’s ambassador to Myanmar said Tuesday that the current situation in the country “is not at all what China wants to see.”
