YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s new military rulers announced on Monday that they intend to crack down on opponents of their takeover, and have issued a decree effectively banning peaceful public protests in the country’s two largest cities. .
The restrictive measures were ordered after police fired water cannons at hundreds of protesters in the capital of Myanmar, Naypyitaw, demanding that the military force return to elected officials. It was just one of many demonstrations across the country.
Gatherings and gatherings of more than five people, along with motorized marches, were banned and an evening clock from 8pm to 4pm was set for areas in Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s first and second largest cities, where thousands of people were protesting. since Saturday.
Protesters in Yangon gathered at a major crossroads in the city center on Monday, raising three-finger salutes that are symbols of resistance and carry posters: ‘Reject the military coup’ and ‘Justice for Myanmar’.
There were also protests in villages in the north, southeast and east of the country.
The orders that made the new restrictive measures possible were issued on a town-by-town basis and were expected to be extended to other areas as well. They say they were issued in response to people committing illegal acts that violate the rule of law, a reference to the protests.
The rising tide of defiance – especially in Naypyitaw, where such protests are uncommon – was noticeable in a country where protests in the past have been met with severe violence. The resistance took place in Naypyitaw, whose population includes many civil servants and their families, and it spoke of the degree of anger among people who only began to taste democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule.
“We do not want the military junta,” said Daw Moe, a Yangon protester. ‘We never wanted this junta. Nobody wants that. All the people are ready to fight against them. ‘
The coup took place the day the newly elected legislators would sit in Parliament after the November elections. The generals said the vote was damaged by fraud, although the country’s electoral commission rejected the claim.
State media on Monday referred to the protests for the first time and claimed that they endangered the country’s stability.
“Democracy can be destroyed if there is no discipline,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Information, which was read on the state television station MRTV. “We will have to take legal action to prevent acts that violate state stability, public safety and the rule of law.”
However, the military commander who led the coup and is now the leader of Myanmar made no mention of the unrest in a 20-minute television speech Monday night, his first to the public since the takeover.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing instead reiterated the allegations of vote fraud that were the justification for the takeover of the army, allegations refuted by the state election commission. He added that his junta would hold new elections in a year and hand over power to the winners, explaining the junta’s proposed policy for COVID-19 control and the economy.
The growing protests are reminiscent of previous movements in the long and bloody struggle for democracy in the Southeast Asian country. On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, which was a focal point for demonstrations against military rule during a massive uprising in 1988 and again during an uprising in 2007 led by Buddhist monks. The military used deadly force to end both of these uprisings. Apart from a few officers, soldiers have not been on the streets in protests over the past week.
In the photos of Monday in Naypyitaw, a large crowd of protesters on several sides were enveloped by large numbers of police and police vehicles. Officers trained a water cannon on the crowd that gathered near a giant statue of Aung San, leading the country’s struggle for independence from Britain in the 1940s, and the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader which by last week’s take over.
Suu Kyi – who became an international symbol of the country’s freedom struggle while detained in her home for 15 years and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts – is now under house arrest again.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent watchdog group, says 165 people, mostly politicians, have been detained since the February 1 coup, with only 13 released.
One foreigner was confirmed by authorities, Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Australia, who was an adviser to Suu Kyi’s government. He was detained on Saturday under unclear circumstances.
A statement issued by Australian Foreign Secretary Marise Payne’s office on Monday said he was receiving consular support and described him as a “highly regarded adviser, a member of the academic community”. “
“We definitely believe he should be released immediately,” he said.