Thousands of protesters on march in Myanmar

ENTHUSIASTIC crowds of tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city yesterday in protest at last week’s coup, demanding a return to civilian government and the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Protesters chanted “Long live Mother Suu” and “Down with military dictatorship”. Their spirits were lifted by the return of internet services that had been blocked a day earlier.

Authorities had cut access to the internet as the protests grew on Saturday, fanning fears of a complete information black-out. Yesterday afternoon, however, internet users in Yangon reported that data access on their mobile phones had suddenly been restored.

Separate protests that began in various parts of Yangon converged at Sule Pagoda, situated in the centre of a roundabout in the centre of the country’s biggest city.

The demonstrators are seeking to roll back last Monday’s seizure of power by the military and secure the release from detention of Ms Suu Kyi and other top figures from her National League for Democracy party.

The military has accused Ms Suu Kyi and her party of failing to act on its complaints that last November’s election was marred by fraud, though the electoral commission said it had found no evidence to support the claims.

The growing protests are a sharp reminder of the long and bloody struggle for democracy in a country that the military ruled directly for more than five decades, before loosening of its grip in 2012.

Ms Suu Kyi’s government, which won a landslide election in 2015, was the first led by civilians in decades in the country formerly known as Burma, though it faced a number of curbs to its power under a militarydrafted constitution.

During Myanmar’s years of isolation under military rule, the goldendomed Sule Pagoda served as a rallying point for political protests calling for democracy, most notably during a massive 1988 uprising and again during a 2007 revolt led by Buddhist monks.

The military used deadly force to end both of those uprisings, with estimates of hundreds if not thousands killed in 1988. While riot police have been sent to watch the protests this past week, soldiers have been absent and there have been no reports of clashes.

Showing little fear, protest crowds have grown bigger and bolder since Monday’s coup, while remaining non-violent in support of a call by Ms Suu Kyi’s party and its allies for civil disobedience.

In one of yesterday’s gatherings, at least 2,000 labour union and student activists and members of the public gathered near Yangon University. They marched along a main road, causing traffic jams, as drivers honked their horns in support.

The protesters held placards calling for freedom for Ms Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who were put under house arrest and charged with minor offences, seen by many as providing a legal veneer for their detention.