(Reuters) – Opponents of the coup in Myanmar sprayed paint and red paint on roads and signs in front of government offices on Wednesday to represent the blood of those killed protesting against the junta on the second day of the traditional New Year holiday.
The display, which was aimed at embarrassing the army, took place in various cities and towns, according to images posted by the media, while people responded to a call from activists to join what they called the bloody paint strike.
Some people marched with signs demanding the release of the ousted government leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She was detained since the February 1 coup for various charges, including a violation of a secret official act that could put her in jail for 14 years.
Her lawyers denied the charges against her.
“Please save our leader – the future – hope,” read a sign with an image of Suu Kyi held by a young woman among several thousand people marching in the second city of Mandalay, according to an image published by the service. Mizzima news.
There were no immediate reports of violence at any of Wednesday’s protests, but information has become scarce due to the junta’s edges on the internet.
The coup plunged Myanmar into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps towards democracy, with daily protests and various campaigns of defiance, including strikes by workers in many sectors that brought the economy to a standstill.
The five-day New Year’s holiday, known as Thingyan, began on Tuesday, but pro-democracy activists canceled the usual festivities to focus on their opposition to the generals who took power.
The military says the protests are going out. Activists have planned various defiance shows every day during the holiday, which ends on Saturday.
An activist group, the Association for Assistance to Political Detainees, says security forces have killed 710 protesters since the ouster of the Suu Kyi government.
The United Nations Office for Human Rights said on Tuesday it feared that the military reduction in protests could escalate into a civil conflict like the one in Syria.
“COURAGE AND COMMITMENT”
The United States and other Western countries have imposed limited sanctions on the military. Neighbors in Southeast Asia have encouraged talks between parts of Myanmar, but to no avail.
US Ambassador to Myanmar Thomas Vajda said in a New Year’s message that he was aware that many people were making sacrifices and suffering for their beliefs and convictions in these “very difficult times.”
“I am deeply impressed by your courage and commitment,” Vajda said.
“Let me also reaffirm the commitment of my colleagues and I … to do all we can to support the people of Myanmar in your aspirations for genuine democracy, peace and freedom.”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said this week that Russia and China, which have close ties to the military, were blocking a united response to the coup, including attempts to impose an arms embargo.
The UN Security Council called for the release of Suu Kyi and others, but stopped condemning the coup.
Small explosions have taken place in various places in recent days, with the latest two explosions in central Monywa on Wednesday injuring one person, the Monywa Gazette reported.
There were no claims of liability.
The coup also rekindled hostilities in old conflicts between military forces and ethnic minorities fighting for autonomy in border regions.
Government forces suffered heavy casualties in an attack on ethnic Kachin forces in the north this week, Myanmar Now media group reported.
A spokesman for the junta could not be reached for comment.
Reuters Staff Report, Written by Robert Birsel; Edited by Jane Wardell and Alison Williams