YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Tension in clashes between authorities and protesters against last week’s coup in Myanmar erupted on Monday as police fired a water cannon at peaceful protesters in the capital Naypyitaw .
On Sunday, in the city of Myawaddy, on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, police fired into the air in an apparent effort to disperse a turbulent crowd. There had been no initial reports of injuries, but the Political Prisoners Assistance Association, an independent surveillance group, said a woman had been shot without providing further details.
There have been no indications that protesters or the military have retreated in their confrontation over who the country’s legitimate government is: Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won a landslide victory in the November elections. past or the board that was formed a week ago and that claims the polls were affected by a vote fraud.
Nonviolent protests demanding the release of detainee Suu Kyi and the restoration of her government have spread across the country, with awareness raising after authorities lifted a brief ban on Sunday. internet access.
State media appear to have ignored the protests, but social media users posted videos and reports on the demonstrations.
New protests were reported on Monday in Kachin state, north, east of Mon, southeast, in Tachileik, a border town in eastern Shan state, in Naypyitaw and Mandalay. , the second largest city in the country, where there were marchers and a motorcycle procession. .
The protests in Naypyitaw, which have been going on for several days, have been especially unusual, as a large part of the city’s population are civil servants and their families. The city was built specifically under a previous military government, has a strong military presence and lacks the protest tradition of the ancient capital, Yangon.
A morning protest in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, quickly escalated with the crowd surpassing the thousand protesters at a major downtown intersection.
They chanted slogans, made a three-fingered greeting and carried banners that said “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar.” Some smaller groups left the main protest and headed to Sule Pagoda, a past rallying point for large protests against previous governing boards.
On Sunday, the golden-domed pagoda served as a rallying point for tens of thousands of protesters, as did protesters against the military government during a massive 1988 uprising and again during a 2007 uprising led by Buddhist monks.
The military used deadly force to end these riots, with estimates of hundreds, if not thousands, of people killed in 1988. Although riot police have watched last week’s protests, soldiers have been absent and there are no there have been reports of major clashes.
The growing protests are a strong reminder of the long and bloody struggle for democracy in a country the military ruled directly for more than five decades before loosening control in 2012. first led by civilians in decades, though its power was limited by a military constitution.
Several activist groups in Yangon launched a general strike call in Yangon, but it was unclear whether it had been widely disseminated or adopted by the informally organized civil disobedience movement at the forefront of the protests.
The Myanmar Political Prisoners Assistance Association, an independent surveillance group, says 165 people, mostly politicians, had been detained since the February 1 coup, with only 13 released.
Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Australia, advised the government of Suu Kyi. He was arrested on Saturday in unclear circumstances.
A statement released on Monday by the office of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said he was provided with consular support and described him as “a highly regarded adviser, a member of the academic community”.
“We certainly believe he should be released immediately,” he said.
The military has accused the Suu Kyi government of acting on allegations that last November’s election was marred by fraud, although the election commission said it had found no evidence to support it. to the statements.
Elected lawmakers from Suu Kyi’s party have called for international recognition as the country’s government after meeting online on Friday to declare themselves the only legitimate representatives of the people. The military banned them from convening Parliament last week.