YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Police fired a water cannon on Monday against hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital demanding the return of military power to elected officials as demonstrations against the coup last week last year they intensified and spread to more parts of the country.
The demonstrations in Naypyitaw, which have been going on for several days, are especially significant as the city, whose population includes many officials and their families, has no tradition of protest and has a strong military presence.
A protest also erupted at a major intersection in the center of the country’s largest city, Yangon, with people chanting slogans, making a three-fingered salute that was a symbol of resistance and carrying banners saying, “Reject the military coup “and” Justice for Myanmar. “
New demonstrations were also reported in cities in the north, southeast and east of the country, as well as in the city of Mandalay, where there was a procession of Marxists and motorbikes.
“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. “
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,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Information, read on state television MRTV. “We will have to take legal action to prevent acts that violate the stability of the state, public safety and the rule of law.”
The coup was seen internationally as a shocking setback for Myanmar, which had been advancing towards democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule. The inauguration took place on the day that newly elected lawmakers were supposed to take 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.
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 the city’s Sule Pagoda, which was a focal point for demonstrations against the military government during a 1988 mass revolt 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 risks of those clashes were highlighted on Sunday in the city of Myawaddy, on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, when police fired into the air to try to disperse a crowd. The Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, an independent surveillance group, said a woman had been shot without providing details about her condition.
There is no sign that protesters or the military are backing down in their fight over who the country’s legitimate government is: politicians in Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won the recent election in a staggered manner. or the board. Suu Kyi’s party has called for international recognition as legitimate representatives of the people.
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 Political Prisoners Assistance Association 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.
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.