YANGON, Myanmar – Police in Myanmar have stepped up their crackdown on protesters against this month’s military takeover, and took effect early Saturday when protesters gathered in the country’s two largest cities.
Security forces in some areas have apparently become more aggressive in the use of force and arrests, and they have used more ordinary officers than they have previously revealed. Photos posted on social media showed residents of at least two cities, Yangon and Monywa, resisting by setting up deliberate street barriers to try to block the police march.
Myanmar’s crisis also took a dramatic turn on the international stage during a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, when the country’s UN ambassador declared his loyalty to the ousted civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the world. appealed to pressure. the army to relinquish power.
There were arrests in Myanmar’s two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, on Saturday, where protesters marched through the streets every day seeking the restoration of Suu Kyi’s government, of which the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in November. to recover.
Police are increasingly upholding an order by the junta banning the gatherings of five or more people.
Many other cities and towns also staged large-scale protests against the February 1 coup.
Police in Dawei, in the southeast, and Monywa, 85 km northwest of Mandalay, used violence against protesters after both cities saw large demonstrations.
Social media contains unconfirmed reports about a protester who was shot dead in Monywa. The reports could not be immediately confirmed independently. According to Monywa reports, dozens have been arrested.
The military takeover turned years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.
Suu Kyi’s party would have been set up for a second term of five years, but the military has prevented parliament from holding her and President Win Myint, as well as other top members of her government, together.
At the New York General Assembly, Myanmar’s UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun stated in an emotional speech to fellow delegates that he represented Suu Kyi’s “civilian government elected by the people” and supported the fight against military rule.
He called on all countries to issue public statements strongly condemning the coup, refusing to recognize the military regime.
He received loud applause from many diplomats in the worldwide body of 193 nations, as well as exuberant praise from other Burmese on social media, who described him as a hero. The ambassador flashed a three-finger salute adopted at the end of his speech by the civil disobedience movement, in which he addressed people at home in Burmese.
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Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Saturday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Security forces also tried to stop protests in Mandalay, where roadblocks were erected at several important intersections and the regular venues for police meetings were flooded.
Buddhist monks were prominent in the march on Saturday in Mandalay and gave moral authority to the civil disobedience movement challenging the military rulers.
The junta said it had taken power because the polls were polluted last year by massive irregularities. The Electoral Commission refuted the allegation of widespread fraud. The junta fired the members of the old commission and appointed new members, who declared the election results null and void on Friday.