YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s new military rulers on Monday signaled their intention to crack down on opponents in their inauguration, issuing decrees effectively banning peaceful public protests in the country’s two largest cities.
Restrictive measures were ordered after police fired water cannons at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, demanding the return of military power to elected officials. It was just one of many demonstrations across the country.
Concentrations and gatherings of more than five people were banned, along with motorized processions, and a curfew was imposed from 8pm to 4am for areas of Yangon and Mandalay, the first and second largest cities in the country, where thousands of people have been protesting since Saturday.
Protesters in Yangon gathered on Monday at a major intersection in the city center, saluting three-fingered people who are symbols of resistance and carried banners that said “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar.”
There were also demonstrations in cities in the north, southeast and east of the country.
The decrees allowing the new restrictive measures were issued by municipalities and were expected to be extended to other areas as well. They say they were issued in response to people carrying out illegal actions that harm the rule of law, a reference to the protests.
The growing wave of defiance, especially in Naypyitaw, where these protests are unusual, has drawn attention in a country where protests have been very strong in the past. This resistance was taking place in Naypyitaw, whose population includes many officials and their families, spoke of the level of anger among people who had only begun to taste democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule. .
“We don’t want the military junta,” said Daw Moe, a protester in Yangon. “We have never wanted this meeting. Nobody wants it. Everyone is ready to fight them. “
The coup took place on the day that newly elected lawmakers were supposed to occupy their seats in Parliament after the November elections. The generals have said the vote was affected by fraud, although the country’s election commission has dismissed the claim.
State media first referred to the protests on Monday, saying they were endangering the country’s stability.
“Democracy can be destroyed if there is no discipline,” a statement from the Ministry of Information, read on state television MRTV, said. “We will have to take legal action to prevent acts that violate the stability of the state, public safety and the rule of law.”
However, the military commander who led the coup and is now the leader of Myanmar made no mention of the unrest in a 20-minute televised speech Monday night, the first to be made public since the taking possession.
General Min Aung Hlaing, on the other hand, repeated the allegations about vote fraud that have been the justification for the acquisition of the army, accusations that were refuted by the state election commission. He added that his Board would hold new elections as promised in a year and hand over power to the winners, and explained the policies planned for the Board for the control and economy of COVID-19.
Growing protests are reminiscent of previous moves in the Southeast Asian country’s long and bloody struggle for democracy. On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at Yangon’s Sule Pagoda, which was a focal point for demonstrations against the military government during a 1988 mass uprising and again during a 2007 uprising led by Buddhist monks. The military used deadly force to end both uprisings. Aside from some officers, soldiers have not been on the street in last week’s protests.
Photos of the clash in Naypyitaw on Monday showed a large crowd of protesters surrounded on various sides by a large number of police and police vehicles. Officers there trained a cannon of water over the crowd, which gathered near a giant statue of Aung San, who led the country’s struggle for Britain’s independence in the 1940s. the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader who was ousted last week. take control.
Suu Kyi, who became an international symbol of the country’s freedom struggle while detained at home for 15 years and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts, is arrested again at home.
The Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, 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 Monday by the office of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said he was being 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.