2/7/2021 Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007 - BBC News

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Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join

largest protests since 2007
5 minutes ago

EPA

Protesters demand the release of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the military

Myanmar has seen its largest protests in more than a decade, as tens of
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2/7/2021 Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007 - BBC News

thousands of people rallied against the military coup and demanded the
release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We don't want military dictatorship. We want democracy," the crowds chanted
in the main city, Yangon. Rallies were held in more than a dozen other cities.

Internet access has now been restored aer a day-long blackout.

The army has not yet commented on the growing opposition to Monday's
coup.

The military seized power aer claiming, without evidence, that the November
election was fraudulent. The rulers declared a year-long state of emergency
and have been hunkered down in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw.

Ms Suu Kyi and senior leaders of her National League for Democracy Party
(NLD), including President Win Myint, have been put under house arrest.

Citizens protest through art

What this means for Aung San Suu Kyi

How Facebook became Myanmar's 'digital tea shop'

In Yangon, people wore red shirts and held red balloons, the colour of Ms Suu
Kyi's party, while cars and buses slowed to sound their horns in support. Many
flashed the three-finger salute, a symbol of defiance against authoritarianism
in the region.

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2/7/2021 Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007 - BBC News
EPA

Demonstrators waved flags of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Yangon

The internet shutdown imposed by the military failed to curb the protesters.
"Respect our vote," read one banner, in reference to the NLD's landslide win in
November.

Sunday's protests in Yangon were the biggest since the so-called Saffron
Revolution in 2007, when thousands of the country's monks rose up against
the military regime.

Crowds marched towards the Sule Pagoda in the city centre while police
vehicles and officers in riot gear were stationed near Yangon University. There
were no immediate reports of violence.

AFP

Anti-coup protesters gathered in Yangon on Sunday despite an internet shutdown

"First, we don't want to go back to military rule. We don't want to live in fear.
Secondly, we want Mother Su to be freed from being under detention
unjustly," a protester told the BBC. "And third, we want to root out the system
where soldiers take civilian administrative positions."

Another demonstrator said that Ms Suu Kyi was "our true leader", adding: "She
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2/7/2021 Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007 - BBC News
y , g
is our only hope for our democracy, if she died or something happened to her,
what is our future? We really need her back."

A third said: "This protest is not the end. We'll group... [every day] until we're
free from the dictatorship."

Smaller protests were also held in Nay Pyi Daw and Mandalay, the country's
second-largest city.

In the town of Myawaddy, there were reports of shots being fired, but no
immediate reports of any injuries. According to some local media outlets,
police had used rubber bullets to break up a rally.

Openly angry, quietly afraid

By Nyein Chan, BBC Burmese, Yangon

People from all different backgrounds, not just students and activists, have
joined the protests in Yangon. They shouted anti-military slogans and sang
famous revolutionary songs from the 1988 student uprising against the
military regime.

The atmosphere was charged and protesters were defiant. They are angry but
also quietly afraid.

They know that the military is capable of using violence to suppress dissent
but they feel like they have no choice.

When a group of protesters met a row of soldiers they chanted at them:

"You're trained to be professional soldiers, do not kill civilians."

Internet returns
The monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory said connectivity rose
to about 50% by 14:00 local time (07:30 GMT) but access to social media,
including Facebook and Twitter, remained blocked.

The shutdown was criticised by human rights groups. Amnesty International

said the blackout was "heinous and reckless" and warned it could put people at
risk of human rights violations.

Fitness coach films video as Myanmar coup unfolds

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2/7/2021 Myanmar coup: Tens of thousands join largest protests since 2007 - BBC News
t ess coac l s deo as ya a coup u olds

Where else have we seen the three-finger salute?

The United Nations special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on

the agency's Human Rights Council to convene a special session on the
"unfolding crisis", saying: "[The] junta must stand down now."
The coup took place as a new session of parliament was set to open. Many
Burmese watched events unfold in real time on Facebook, which is the
country's primary source of information and news.

"We wish them to fall": Teachers in the city of Yangon have joined protests against Monday's military
coup

Myanmar at a glance
Myanmar is a country of 54 million people in South East Asia which shares
borders with Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand and Laos.

It was ruled by an oppressive military government from 1962 to 2011, either

directly or indirectly, leading to international condemnation and sanctions.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent years campaigning for democratic reforms. A gradual
liberalisation began in 2010, though the military still retained considerable
influence.

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A government led by Ms Suu Kyi came to power aer free elections in 2015.
But a deadly military crackdown two years later on Rohingya Muslims sent
hundreds of thousands fleeing to Bangladesh.

It triggered a ri between Ms Suu Kyi and her previous supporters in the
international community aer she refused to condemn the crackdown or
describe it as ethnic cleansing. But she has remained hugely popular at home.

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