Myanmar witnessed today, Sunday, the largest wave of demonstrations since the 2007 Saffron Revolution, as tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets to protest the military coup that took place in the country a week ago.
The demonstrations were held for the second day in a row in various cities of the country, with the largest of them being the city of Yangon, where protesters expressed their rejection of “military dictatorship”, chanting “We want democracy” and demanding the release of the detained leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest. Since the coup.
The Associated Press confirmed that at least 2,000 protesters from the Workers’ Union, Students and Activists organized a protest march in front of Yangon University, while police forces were deployed at the main entrance of the university, without any reports of incidents between the two parties.
Two demonstrations of approximately the same size were held in two other districts of Yangon, and protesters presented, in a symbolic way, flowers to police officers in front of the city’s municipal headquarters.
Most of the demonstrations in Myanmar today were of a peaceful nature, but in the southeastern city of Myawadi, cameras documented a moment of gunfire during the police dispersal of a few hundred protesters, according to Reuters.
It is not clear whether the accident resulted in injuries or casualties, especially in light of the restrictions imposed by the new authorities on internet service.
In the city of Bayathonzo, protesters spent the night in front of a police station, against the backdrop of reports that local lawmakers had been detained inside it.
Yesterday, the new authorities stopped the nationwide internet service almost completely, but “Reuters” reported that access to the global network has likely resumed this afternoon.
The new military authorities based in the capital, Naypyidaw, have not commented on the demonstrations.
According to United Nations data, more than 160 people have been arrested in Myanmar since the coup.
Source: Reuters + Associated Press
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