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YANGON: Thousands of people demonstrated in Yangon on Wednesday (February 17) to protest against the military coup despite a troop build-up and fears of escalating violence.
“Today is the day we have to fight to the end. We need to show our unity and strength to end the military regime. People have to take to the streets,” a 21-year-old university student told AFP.
Kyi Toe, spokesman for the National League for Democracy party of the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, wrote a post on his Facebook page, saying: “Let’s march en masse. Let us show our strength against the coup government that has destroyed the future of the youth and of our country. “
A man holding a sign is seen near Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar on February 17, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
Protesters are seen in downtown Sule in Yangon, Myanmar on February 17, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said he feared the situation was spiraling out of control, with reports of soldiers being brought into the commercial capital from outlying regions.
“In the past, these troop movements preceded large-scale killings, disappearances and arrests,” he said in a statement issued by his office in Geneva.
“I am terrified that given the confluence of these two events, planned mass protests and the convergence of troops, we may be on the verge of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar.”
READ: Opponents of Myanmar’s coup call for a new show of force
READ: Myanmar security forces open fire to disperse protesters
On Monday in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, security forces pointed guns at a group of 1,000 protesters and attacked them with slingshots and clubs. Local media reported that the police also fired rubber bullets into a crowd and that some people were injured.
The protests are carried out in defiance of an order prohibiting gatherings of five or more people.
Protesters are seen in downtown Sule in Yangon, Myanmar on February 17, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
Protesters wave flags of the National League for Democracy party to protest the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP Images)
Police filed a new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said on Tuesday, a move likely to further fuel public anger.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested at the military takeover on February 1, was already facing one charge of illegally possessing walkie-talkies, an apparent attempt to provide a legal appearance to her house arrest.
The new charge accuses her of violating a law that has been used to prosecute people who have violated coronavirus restrictions, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters after meeting with a judge in the capital, Naypyidaw. It carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
READ: UN envoy issues warning to Myanmar after Aung San Suu Kyi struck with new charge
READ: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi to face court this week: Lawyer
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a strong denunciation of the legal move against Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The new charges against Aung San Suu Kyi fabricated by the Myanmar military are a clear violation of her human rights,” he tweeted. “We support the people of Myanmar and we will ensure that those responsible for this coup are held accountable.”
Protesters are seen in downtown Sule in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
A banner calling for the release of detained Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is carried by protesters blocking a road during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 17, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Ye Aung Thu).
A United Nations spokesman said the new charges against Aung San Suu Kyi do not change the world body’s “strong claim” that the military overrides the “democratic will of the people” and arrests political leaders, activists and peaceful protesters.
“We have asked that the charges against her be dropped, that she be released,” Stephane Dujarric said.
Police personnel are seen in Hledan, Yangon, amid protests in Myanmar on February 17, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
Protesters are seen in Hledan, Yangon, amid protests in Myanmar on February 17, 2021. (Photo: Naung Kham)
The coup has halted Myanmar’s fragile progress toward democracy, most visible in Aung San Suu Kyi’s tenure as national leader.
For the third night in a row, the military ordered an internet shutdown, almost completely blocking online access from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. He has also prepared a bill that would criminalize many online activities.
READ: Myanmar troops fire at protesters in signs of feared crackdown
While the military did not say why the Internet was blocked, there is widespread speculation that the government is installing a firewall system to allow it to monitor or block online activity.
Social media users have widely speculated that neighboring China, with extensive experience in censoring the internet, was providing technical assistance for such a project.
Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021 (Photo: Naung Kham)
Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021 (Photo: Naung Kham)
China so far has not condemned the acquisition. Some protesters have accused Beijing, which has long been Myanmar’s main arms supplier and has significant investments in the country, of propping up the junta.
The Chinese ambassador said Beijing has friendly relations with both Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and the military, according to the text of an interview posted on the embassy’s Facebook page on Tuesday. Chen Hai said he wished the two sides could resolve their differences through dialogue.
READ: Myanmar’s situation ‘is not what China wants to see’: Ambassador
“The current development in Myanmar is not at all what China wants to see,” he said.
Chen also denied that China was helping Myanmar control its Internet traffic and that Chinese soldiers appeared on the streets of Myanmar.
Protesters hold up posters as they block a road during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 17, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Ye Aung Thu).
Protesters gather near Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
“For the record, these are completely absurd and even ridiculous accusations,” Chen said.
The military maintains that there was fraud in last year’s elections, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won overwhelmingly, and says it will hold power for a year before holding new elections. The electoral commission found no evidence to support the fraud allegations.
