Myanmar protests accelerate as protesters call on military to release Aung San Suu Kyi

by



[ad_1]

A witness from the former capital Yangon told CNN that the crowd on Sunday was mostly young and appeared to be much larger and better organized than Saturday’s protest. Public participation also appears to be increasing, according to witnesses. The Reuters press service said tens of thousands of people were on the streets.
Protesters held banners and placards with the image of Suu Kyi, some saying “We want our leader”. Suu Kyi and other democratically elected lawmakers were arrested by the military in pre-dawn raids on Monday.

Protesters marched through the Yangon University area on Sunday, changing direction to avoid roadblocks and any confrontation with police. A witness saw several police trucks in the area.

Resistance to the coup was initially found to be limited, in part due to widespread communication difficulties, as well as fears of further repression.

Internet watchdog service NetBlocks said on Saturday that the country was in the midst of a second “nationwide” internet shutdown as the military tried to secure its grip on power.

According to NetBlocks, real-time network data showed connectivity fell to 16% of regular levels and users reported difficulty getting connected.

Protesters march during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on February 7, 2021.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) on Saturday ordered the shutdown of the nationwide data network, according to Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor Group, which operates Telenor Myanmar.

The group, writing on Twitter, said the ministry cited “Myanmar’s telecommunications law and referred to the circulation of fake news, the stability of the nation and the public interest as the basis of the order”.

The decline in connectivity follows measures to block access to social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as a number of prominent local media outlets.

Communication between protesters on Sunday was largely through text messages, phone calls and word of mouth, according to a witness in Yangon. On Saturday, crowds announced where to gather on Sunday, resulting in a seemingly improved organization, the witness said.

Members of Suu Kyi’s student union, union and National League for Democracy (NLD) party were expected to join the protest throughout Sunday.

Riot police block the street as protesters stage a protest against the military coup in Yangon on February 7, 2021.

Coup sparks protests

For more than 50 years Myanmar – also known as Burma – has been ruled by successive isolationist military regimes that have plunged the country into poverty and brutally quelled any dissent. Thousands of critics, activists, journalists, academics and artists were regularly jailed and tortured during this period.

The recently deposed civilian leader, Suu Kyi, gained international fame during her decades-long struggle against military rule. When his party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won a landslide in the 2015 election and formed the first civilian government, many pro-democracy supporters hoped it would mark a break with the military regime of the past. and offer hope that Myanmar would continue to reform.

It was widely reported that the NLD had won another decisive victory in the November 2020 general election, giving it another five years in power and dashing the hopes of some military figures that an opposition party it had supported could. take power democratically.

Why the generals really took back power in Myanmar

The sudden takeover came as the new parliament was due to open and after months of growing friction between the civilian government and the powerful army, known as Tatmadaw, over alleged electoral irregularities. The country’s election commission has repeatedly denied massive election fraud.

Hundreds of NLD lawmakers were detained in the capital Naypyitaw on Monday, where they had traveled to take their seats. The junta has since dismissed 24 ministers and government deputies and appointed 11 of its own allies as replacements who will assume their roles in a new administration.

Analysts suggested the coup was more likely to be linked to the military’s attempt to reassert power and the personal ambition of army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who was due to step down this year, rather than serious allegations of electoral fraud.
Monday’s coup has been widely condemned internationally, with the United States calling on Myanmar’s military rulers to “immediately relinquish the power they have seized, release the militants and officials they have detained, lift all telecommunications restrictions and refrain from violence against civilians ”.

CNN’s Helen Regan and James Griffiths contributed to this report.

[ad_2]

Source link