Crowds protest in Myanmar

Thousands fill the streets of Yangon to demand the return of democratically elected leaders.

YANGON, Myanmar — After days of pent-up tension, thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Myanmar’s largest city Saturday to demand the return of a democratically elected civilian government deposed in a military coup last week.

The tense but peaceful protests in Yangon came as the military junta began restricting access to the internet, largely shutting off the country of 54 million from the outside world.

The nation’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, placed leaders of the ruling National League for Democracy party, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, in detention Monday and announced a year of emergency military rule.

The putsch ended a decade of flawed democracy in the country, which is also known as Burma, after nearly 50 years of military dictatorship.

In the first of two major protests in Yangon on Saturday, thousands of demonstrators marched down Insein Road, a major traffic artery, in the morning to try to occupy the campus of Yangon University.

The crowd was blocked by at least 100 riot police officers carrying long guns, prompting a tense standoff that attracted more demonstrators and the screams of supporters in passing buses and cars.

Students, construction workers, factory laborers, shopkeepers and passersby joined the protest, chanting, “No more dictatorship,” and flashing a three-fingered salute that was borrowed from pro-democracy protesters in neighboring Thailand and inspired by the “Hunger Games” films.

“I’m here to encourage the people. We fight for our justice and rights. We want to free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” said a bank manager, using an honorific for Suu Kyi.

A 35-year-old woman who identified herself as a protest organizer said the demonstration would be the first of many to come.

“This is the first day for all the people in Myanmar to come out to the streets and protest,” said the woman, who like many interviewed declined to provide a name for fear of arrest. “I’m so glad we have a lot of power. We have a lot of people who are young and who are against the military and want to take back our freedom.”

Workers for the food delivery app Foodpanda handed out stickers with prodemocracy slogans at the demonstration.

Nearby at the Hledan Center shopping mall, at least a thousand police officers were surrounded by peaceful demonstrators singing protest anthems and chanting, “Stand with the people.” The protesters offered bottled water and cigarettes to officers and placed flowers at their feet.

There were no reports of mass arrests in Yangon, which is also known as Rangoon, by Saturday evening as the protests began to dissipate.