FLASHPOINT FEARS ON ARMED FORCES DAY
Activists call for protests following firebomb attack on Suu Kyi’s party HQ
MYANMAR activists have called for major anti-coup protests this weekend as the junta marks Armed Forces Day, after a firebomb attack on deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party headquarters.
Before dawn yesterday, the Yangon offices of her National League for Democracy (NLD) were hit by a Molotov cocktail, which caused a brief fire.
The attack left only minor damage, but the party has been in disarray since the coup, with many of its top leaders, including Suu Kyi, in detention and some of its members of parliament in hiding.
“We have to file a complaint to the police. We do not know who did this, but it is not good at all,” Soe Win, an NLD member in charge of the headquarters, said.
The incident came on the eve of today’s Armed Forces Day, when the military will put on a show of strength with its annual parade.
Fears have been swirling that the day could become a flashpoint, as security forces have continued to crack down on activists, protesters and political allies of Suu Kyi.
Activists raised a call for nationwide protests against the junta today.
“The time has arrived again to fight the military’s oppression,” said prominent activist Ei Thinzar Maung in a Facebook post.
The Karen National Union (KNU), a key ethnic rebel group, released a letter yesterday addressed to junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing, acknowledging an invitation from the regime to meet.
“The KNU finds it unacceptable that police and (the military), whose responsibilities are to protect and defend its own people, have killed, attacked and threatened peaceful protesters,” said the letter.