Mass Rallies Heap Pressure On Myanmar’s Coup Leaders

Myanmar generals faced the greatest opposition by last week’s coup and demanded the release of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had expelled a large crowd across the country on Monday.

The junta has so far refrained from using deadly forces to quell national protests, but riot police fired water cannons on Monday to disperse thousands on the streets of Naypyidaw. did.

Last week, the military detained Shu Qi and dozens of other members of her National League for Democracy, ending a decade of civilian rule and causing widespread international criticism.

Tens of thousands of people were taken to the city of Myanmar to protest the coup
AFP / str

Tens of thousands gathered on the weekend in the first large eruption of repulsion, a movement was built on Monday, and there were greater protests and the start of national strikes in major parts of the country.

In Yangon, the country’s commercial center, a large number of people spilled onto the city’s main roads, immobilizing traffic in the city and dwarfing the crowd the day before.

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Tens of thousands of people were taken to the city of Myanmar to protest the coup
AFP / str

Some people put up signs saying “Save Myanmar” and “I want democracy,” while others got behind a truck singing a revolutionary song.

National strike calls gained momentum over the weekend, with textile workers, civil servants and railroad workers quitting their jobs in the commercial center.

“Today is a work day, but I won’t work even if my salary goes down,” Hnin Thazin, a 28-year-old garment factory worker, told AFP.

The country’s new junta has so far refrained from using deadly forces to quell national protests.
AFP / STR

Construction worker Chit Min, 18, attended a rally in Yangon, saying his loyalty to Shu Qi outweighed his pressing concerns about his financial situation.

“I’ve been unemployed for a week now because of a military coup and I’m worried about surviving,” he told AFP.

Similarly, a large crowd marched to Mandalay, the country’s second-largest pre-colonial monarchy and former seat, holding a photo of Shu Qi and holding her NLD party red flag. I was shaking.

Protesters flashed a three-finger salute that became a symbol of opposition to Myanmar’s military coup
AFP / STR

Police sought to disperse thousands of people gathered on the Naypyidaw highway, where Shu Qi is believed to be still in custody.

Trucks fired water cannons at the crowd, injuring at least two demonstrators, according to on-site photographers.

Large-scale rallies were also reported in most parts of the country, including the southern cities Dawei and Hpa-an.

The Myanmar general staged a riot by detaining Shu Qi and dozens of other top NLD leaders in a pre-dawn raid.
AFP / Ye Aung THU

A Myanmar general staged a riot by detaining 75-year-old Shu Qi and other top NLD leaders in a pre-dawn raid.

The general justified the coup by alleging fraud in the November election, when the NLD won a landslide victory.

Military junta declared a state of emergency for a year and then promised to hold a new election without providing an exact time frame.

US President Joe Biden has led a global call for the general to relinquish power.

Pope Francis on Sunday also announced “solidarity with the people of Myanmar” and urged the military to work towards “democratic coexistence.”

Other bold rebellion indications within Myanmar include the nightly screams of people hitting pots and pans. This is a convention traditionally associated with warding off evil spirits.

The surge in public opposition over the weekend was even greater than the previous closure that overcame the national Internet blockade and coincided with the start of the coup.

Military junta has also ordered communications networks to freeze access to Facebook, which is a very popular service in the country and is arguably its primary mode of communication.

Myanmar’s military ruled the country for decades before granting civilian rule ten years ago.

As opposition leader, Shu Qi spent most of her life under house arrest during the previous dictatorship and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.

Engineer Kyaw Zin Tun said Monday that while protesting in Yangon, he remembered the horror he felt grew up under the control of military junta in his childhood in the 1990s.

“In the last five years under the democratic regime, our fears have been removed, but now we are regaining our fears. Therefore, we are this military junta for the future of all of us. I have to throw it away, “said the 29-year-old. AFP.