Protesters returned to the streets of the capital Naypyitaw in Myanmar on Wednesday after the most violent day yet in protests against a military coup that removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands marched in large cities and smaller towns across the country in defiance of a ban on rallies in some areas, with police water cannons, rubber bullets and live rounds against it.
One woman was hit in the head by a bullet and was in critical condition and was expected to die, a doctor in Naypyidaw said. She was wounded when police fired shots, mostly in the air, to clear protesters in the capital. Three other people were treated for wounds from suspected rubber bullets, doctors said.
The United States and the United Nations have condemned the use of force against protesters, demanding the overthrow of the coup and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists.
“We can not remain silent,” youth leader Esther Ze Naw told Reuters on Wednesday. “If blood is shed during our peaceful demonstrations, there will be more if we let the country take over.”
In Naypyitaw, hundreds of state workers marched in support of a civil disobedience campaign waged by doctors, teachers and railway workers, among others.
Protesters were also injured in Mandalay and other cities, where security forces also used water cannon. State media reported injuries to police during their attempts to disperse protesters, who are accused of throwing stones and bricks.
The U.S. State Department said it was reviewing aid to Myanmar to ensure that those responsible for the coup had “significant consequences”.
“We reiterate our call for the military to relinquish power, restore the democratically elected government, release those detained and lift all telecommunications restrictions and refrain from violence,” Ned Price said in Washington.
The United Nations has called on the security forces of Myanmar to respect the right of people to demonstrate peacefully. “The use of excessive force against protesters is unacceptable,” said Ola Almgren, the UN representative in Myanmar.
The protests have been the largest in Myanmar for more than a decade, reminiscent of memories of nearly half a century of direct military rule and cramped uprisings until the military began a process of withdrawal from civilian politics in 2011.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said nearly 60 people were arrested across Myanmar on Tuesday.
Myanmar’s army has taken power, citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud during a November 8 election in which Nung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won a landslide victory. The Electoral Commission dismissed the army’s complaints.
Late Tuesday, police raided the NLD’s headquarters in Yangon during the hours of a military return. The raid was carried out by about a dozen police who were forced into the commercial capital building after dark, elected lawmakers said.
The party of Aung San Suu Kyi would start a second term on the day of the coup.
In addition to the protests, a civil disobedience movement affected hospitals, schools and government offices. Staff at the Ministry of Electricity and Power in Naypyitaw were among the youngest to join the civil disobedience movement on Wednesday.
Protesters’ demands now go beyond reversing the coup.
They are also seeking the abolition of a 2008 constitution that has been drafted under military supervision, giving the generals a veto in parliament and the control of several ministries, and for a federal system in ethnically diverse Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for a campaign for democracy and spent nearly 15 years under house arrest.
The 75-year-old is facing charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies and is being held until February 15. Her lawyer said he was not allowed to see her.
Aung San Suu Kyi remains very popular at home despite damage to her international reputation over the fate of the Muslim-Rohingya minority.