After days of massive protests against the military coup, an armored vehicle drives past Sule Pagoda in Yangon on Feb. 14, 2021.
AFP | Getty Images
Security forces in Myanmar have deployed armored vehicles in major cities and cut internet access on Monday following protests over this month’s coup and the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi drew hundreds of thousands into the streets.
Suu Kyi’s detention on charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies ends Monday. Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, was not available to comment on what was about to happen.
Police opened fire on Sunday to disperse protesters at a power plant in northern Myanmar during a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations against the Feb. 1 coup that derailed the country’s cautious transition to democracy in the southeast of the country.
In addition to massive protests across the country, the military rulers are facing a strike by government employees, who are part of a civil disobedience movement that is paralyzing many of the functions of the government.
Soldiers were deployed at power plants in the northern state of Kachin, leading to a showdown with protesters, some of whom said they believed the military was planning to cut electricity.
The security forces fired to disperse protesters outside a factory in Kachin’s capital, Myitkyina, footage broadcast live on Facebook showed, although it was not clear whether they were using rubber bullets or live fire.
On Sunday evening, armored vehicles appeared in the commercial capital of Yangon, Myitkyina and Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, the first large-scale rollout of such vehicles across the country since the coup.
On Monday, more than a dozen police cars with four water cannon vehicles were deployed at Sule Pagoda in Yangon, one of the main protests in the commercial capital.
The government and military could not be reached for comment.
Shortly after midnight, residents of Myanmar reported an internet outage. All four telecommunications networks were inaccessible Monday from about 1 a.m. (1830 GMT), they said. In the early days after the coup, the internet was cut across the country.
Western embassies – from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and 11 other countries – issued a statement late on Sunday calling on the security forces to “refrain from violence against protesters and civilians protesting the overthrow of their legitimate government. “.
The US Embassy in Myanmar previously urged US citizens to “take shelter on the spot”, citing reports of the military movements in Yangon. It also warned that there was a possibility of a telecom interruption at night between 1:00 am and 9:00 am
“Internet shutdown in #Myanmar is now back in effect for all major operators, reportedly until 9:00 AM,” said Alex Warofka, product policy manager for human rights and freedom of expression at Facebook, in a Twitter post after the Internet went down.
“I hope everyone stays safe tonight amid very disturbing reports of military activity. #KeepItOn.”
Civil disobedience
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Myanmar’s military and police to ensure that the proper peaceful assembly was respected and that protesters were not subjected to reprisals, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a Sunday. statement.
“The ongoing arrests of political leaders, government officials, civil society actors and media representatives are very worrying, as are the restrictions on the Internet and communication services,” he said.
In the latest sign of worker disruption, the Department of Civil Aviation said in a statement that many staff had been out of work since February 8, delaying international flights.
A pilot, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said hundreds of the department’s employees were on strike. Military personnel were near Yangon International Airport late Sunday night, he said.
Trains in parts of the country also stopped running after staff refused to work, local media reported.
The junta has ordered officials to return to work and is threatening action. The military has carried out nighttime mass arrests and given itself extensive powers on Saturday to detain people and search private property.
Richard Horsey, a Myanmar-based analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the work of many government departments had actually stalled.
“This has the potential to affect vital functions as well – the military can replace engineers and doctors, but not power grid controllers and central bankers,” he said.
At least 400 people have been detained since the coup, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group said.