Myanmar activists wearing black for Rohingya people

ANTI-JUNTA protesters flooded Myanmar’s social media with pictures of themselves wearing black in a show of solidarity with the Rohingya, a minority group that is among the most persecuted in the country.

Since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi from power in a Feb 1 coup, an anti-junta movement demanding a return to democracy has grown to include fighting for ethnic minority rights. The mostly Muslim Rohingya – long viewed as interlopers from Bangladesh by many in Myanmar – have for decades been denied citizenship, rights, access to services and freedom of movement.

In posts tagged #Black4rohingya activists and civilians took to social media to post pictures of themselves wearing black and flashing a threefinger salute of resistance. Local media also showed a protest in Myanmar’s commercial hub, Yangon, with demonstrators holding signs in Burmese.