(Reuters) – Opponents of military rule in Myanmar on Sunday wrote messages in protest of Easter eggs, while others were back on the streets and challenging security forces after a candlelight vigil for hundreds of people killed since a February 1 coup.
In the latest in a series of improvised shows of defiance, messages such as “We must win”, “Spring Revolution” and “Get out MAH” have been seen on eggs in photos on social media, while the latter refers to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. Easter is not commonly observed in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an activist group that monitors victims and arrests since the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, said the death toll had risen to 557 by the end of Saturday.
“People in Burma have continued to strike for the end of the dictatorship, for democracy and human rights,” the group said under a different name for the country in Southeast Asia.
Despite the killings, protesters are still turning up every day in large and small towns to reject the return of military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy. Numerous candlelight vigils took place on Saturday night.
Early on Sunday, hundreds of people protested in the second city of Mandalay, some on foot, others on motorcycles, according to images on social media, before police and soldiers marched there.
Protesters also gathered in several other towns.
There were no immediate reports of violence.
Police and a junta spokesman did not respond to phone calls to comment.
BREEDBANDSNY
Opponents of military rule have also launched a civil disobedience campaign of strikes and they often arrange creative displays of defiance that have expanded into eggs on Easter Sunday.
The AAPP said 2,658 people were in custody, including four women and a man who spoke to a visiting CNN news staff during interviews in the streets of the capital Yangon.
A CNN spokesman said he was aware of reports of detention following the team’s visit.
“We urge the authorities for information on this and for the safe release of prisoners,” the spokesman said.
The military is conducting its own campaign to control information and stifle differences of opinion.
It has ordered ISPs to cut off wireless broadband from Friday, depriving most customers of access, although some messages and photos are still being posted and shared.
Authorities have also issued warrants for nearly 40 celebrities known for their opposition to military rule, including influencers, singers and models on social media, under a law inciting dissent in the armed forces.
The charge, which was announced on Friday and Saturday on the main news bulletins broadcast by the state media, could carry a prison sentence of three years.
“CONSCIOUS CLEAR”
One of the accused, blogger Thurein Hlaing Win, told Reuters he was shocked when he was seen on television that he was branded a criminal and that he was hiding.
“I did not do anything bad or evil. I stood on the side of the truth. I followed the path I believe in. I chose well between good and evil, ‘he said by telephone from an unknown place.
“If I am punished for it, my conscience is clear. My beliefs will not change. Everyone knows the truth. ”
The army ruled the former British colony with an iron fist after seizing power in a coup in 1962 until it withdrew from civilian politics a decade ago. Suu Kyi was released from years of house arrest and allowed an election that swept her party in 2015.
It says he had to oust Suu Kyi’s government because a November election, which was again easily won by her party, was hampered. The Electoral Commission rejected the allegation.
Many in Myanmar, especially younger people who have come of age during the past decade of social and economic opening, cannot accept the return of the government by the generals.
Suu Kyi is in custody on charges that could lead to 14 years in prison. Her lawyer says the charges are being investigated.
The coup also caused clashes with autonomy-seeking ethnic minority powers announcing support for the pro-democracy movement.
The Karen National Union, which signed a ceasefire in 2012, has seen the first military airstrikes on its forces in more than 20 years, saying it must fight to defend itself against a government offensive.
The group said more than 12,000 villagers had fled their homes due to the airstrikes.
Fighting also flared up in the north between the army and ethnic Kachin insurgents. The unrest sent thousands of refugees fleeing to Thailand and India.
Suu Kyi’s party has promised to establish a federal democracy, the most important demand for the minority groups.
Reporting by Reuters staff; Written by Robert Birsel; Edited by William Mallard and Kenneth Maxwell