Myanmar protesters remain defiant despite worst day of violence with two killed.
Group undeterred by worst day of violence after two killed
OPPONENTS of the Feb 1 military coup gathered again, undeterred by the bloodiest day of their campaign the previous day when police and soldiers opened fire in the second city of Mandalay, killing two.
Early yesterday, police arrested a famous actor, Lu Min, wanted for supporting opposition to the coup, his wife said.
The military has been unable to quell the demonstrations against the coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others, even with a promise of a new election, arrests and warnings against dissent.
In the main city of Yangon, several thousand young protesters gathered near the city’s main university campus to chant slogans, while hundreds massed peacefully in Mandalay, footage shown by a media outlet showed.
People also marched in the central towns of Monywa and Bagan and the southern towns of Dawei and Myeik.
“The number of people will increase today and we won’t stop.
We’ll continue to our goal of democracy,” said Yin Nyein Hmway at the Yangon protest.
Earlier in Kyaukme, about 110km west of Mandalay, a handmade device exploded in front of the liaison office of the Restoration Council of Shan State.
The explosion damaged the door of the compound and damaged two cars parked in front of the house.
“We found about 100 steel balls and metal objects scattered after the explosion. No one was injured,” said a social welfare association member.
The protests had been largely peaceful, unlike previous episodes of opposition during nearly half a century of direct military rule, which ended in 2011.
Members of ethnic minorities, poets, rappers and transport workers marched peacefully on Saturday in various places, but tension escalated quickly in Mandalay where police and soldiers confronted striking shipyard workers.
Some of the demonstrators fired catapults at police. Police responded with tear gas and gunfire, witnesses said.
Video clips on social media also showed security forces firing and witnesses said they found the cartridges of live rounds and rubber bullets on the ground.
Two people were shot and killed and 20 were wounded, said Ko Aung, a leader of a volunteer emergency service.
Police were not available for comment but the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper accused the strikers of sabotaging vessels and attacking police with sticks, knives and catapults. — Reuters/Eleven Media Group/ANN