Buddhist monks, priests, nuns and even a couple in wedding dress was among the thousands of protesters who flooded the streets of Myanmar on Tuesday to protest last week’s military coup that ended the country’s shaky experiment with democracy.
The crowds gathered for a fourth day in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay, Pathein and Naypyidaw, the capital. hold signs with photos of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and slogans such as: “We want justice.”
According to Reuters, police fired water cannons and allegedly used rubber bullets against protesters.
“Many protesters were injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the current protests,” the United Nations in Myanmar said in a statement Tuesday, citing “reports from Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities.”
Protesters who were apparently Roman Catholic priests and nuns were seen in Pathein, 100 miles southwest of Yangon, with signs: “We need democracy: liberate our leaders” and “Respect our votes.”
The military coup on February 1, which arrested Democratic leader Suu Kyi and forced nationwide internet outages, was met with a resistance movement that has not been seen in Myanmar since the country’s transition to democracy in 2011.
“Three fingers is a tiger nail that will break the dictator’s throat,” youth activist Maung Saungkha wrote in a poem published on his Facebook account on Monday. It was a reference to the three-fingered salute seen in protests in Myanmar’s streets, schools and even hospital balconies, which was popular in anti-authoritarian protests in Thailand in 2014 and probably has its roots in the young adult dystopian ‘. Hunger Games’ franchise. .
Police guns in Naypyidaw shots in the air when protesters initially refused to move, the A witness told Reuters.
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Protesters in Naypyidaw and Yangon were sprayed with water cannons and responded by throwing plastic bottles at police in riot gear, the video showed. People could be seen wearing raincoats while standing in a queue facing security forces in a video posted on social media of Yangon.
“Security forces have a moral and legal obligation to defy illegal orders to use excessive force against peaceful protesters in Myanmar,” he said. UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews wrote on Twitter.
‘Everything in the chain can be held accountable for committing crimes against humanity. “Following orders is no defense,” he added on Tuesday.
There is a nationwide curfew from 20:00 to 04:00, as well as a ban on the gathering of five or more people, according to American Citizen Services in Yangon.
The unrest raised fears that Myanmar could return to the authoritarian military regime that ruled the country for half a century until 2011. Nobel laureate Suu Kyi was released from house arrest and parliamentary democracy was partially re-established.
Since then, the Myanmar army has retained overall control of the country’s government, despite two major victories for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy. The country’s democratic transition came to a sudden halt on February 1 when the National League for Democracy was poised to adopt for a second term.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Sara Mhaidli and Xin Chen contributed.