Tens of thousands of anti-coup protesters defy junta’s warnings
Britain tells UN rights council the situation is worsening; EU warns military junta leaders of sanctions
YANGON: A general strike against military rule shut businesses in Myanmar on Monday and huge crowds gathered peacefully despite fears of violence after authorities warned that confrontation could be deadly.
Three weeks after seizing power, the junta has failed to stop the daily protests and a civil disobedience movement calling for the reversal of the February 1 coup and release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Hundreds of thousands gathered in cities and towns across the country, from the northern hills on the border with China to the central plains, the Irrawaddy river delta and the southern tip of the panhandle, social media images showed.
In the capital, Naypyitaw, where the military is headquartered, a police water cannon truck and a fleet of other vehicles closed in to break up a procession of chanting protesters who scattered when police on foot rushed in, wrestling several to the ground.
The response of security forces this month has been less deadly than in earlier bouts of turmoil in almost half a century of direct military rule but three protesters have been killed - two shot dead in Mandalay on Saturday, and a woman who died on Friday after being shot more than a week earlier in Naypyitaw.
Many civil servants have been staying away from work as part of the civil disobedience campaign and government services have been crippled. The military has accused protesters of intimidation and provoking violence.
Late on Sunday, state-owned media MRTV warned that confrontation could cost lives.
“Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer loss of life,” the broadcaster said.
Facebook said on Monday it had removed MRTV’s pages for
violations of its standards, including its violence and incitement policy. On Sunday, it deleted the military’s main page for the same reason.
In a country where dates are seen as auspicious, protesters noted the significance of the date 22.2.2021, comparing it with demonstrations on August 8, 1988, when a previous generation staged anti-military protests that were bloodily suppressed. But that and the government warning did not put people off.
Later, riot police lined up, apparently preparing to disperse protesters from outside a UN
office, but the crowd broke up after singing a festive song that features the line: “Goodbye, we’re going”.
Crowds elsewhere in Yangon melted away by late afternoon.
Authorities were “exercising utmost restraint”, the foreign ministry said. It rebuked some countries for remarks it described as interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs.
Several Western countries have condemned the coup and decried violence against protesters. Britain’s foreign secretary Dominic Raab, in a recorded speech to the UN Human Rights
Council on Monday, said the situation in Myanmar was worsening after a military coup.
“The military must step aside. Civilian leaders must be released. And the democratic wishes of the people of Myanmar must be respected,” he said.
The EU on Monday warned Myanmar’s military rulers it was ready to impose sanctions over this month’s coup.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Twitter the United States would continue to “take firm action” against authorities violently cracking down on opponents of the coup.