Protesters returned to the streets of Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, on Wednesday, after the most violent day to date, in demonstrations against a military coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands marched in major cities and smaller towns across the country, defying a ban on rallies in some areas, with police using water cannons, rubber bullets and live rounds against them.
A woman was hit in the head by a bullet and was in critical condition and was expected to die, said a doctor in Naypyidaw. She was injured when police fired in rounds, mostly in the air, to remove protesters from the capital. Three other people were treated for injuries caused by alleged rubber bullets, doctors said.
The United States and the United Nations have condemned the use of force against protesters demanding the reversal of the coup and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists.
“We cannot stand still,” youth leader Esther Ze Naw said on Wednesday. “If the blood shed during our peaceful protests, then there will be more if we let them take over the country.”
In Naypyitaw, hundreds of government workers marched in support of a civil disobedience campaign, which was joined by, among others, doctors, teachers and railway workers.
Protesters were also injured in Mandalay and other cities, where security forces also used water cannons. State media reported injuries to police during their attempts to disperse the protesters, who were accused of throwing stones and bricks.
The US State Department has said it is reviewing assistance to Myanmar to ensure that those responsible for the coup face “significant consequences”.
“We reiterate our calls for the military to relinquish power, restore the democratically elected government, release the detainees and lift all telecommunications restrictions, and refrain from violence,” Washington spokesman Ned Price said.
The United Nations has called on Myanmar’s security forces to respect the right of people to protest peacefully. “The use of disproportionate force against protesters is unacceptable,” said Ola Almgren, the UN envoy to Myanmar.
The protests are the largest in Myanmar for more than a decade, reviving memories of nearly half a century of direct military leadership and spasms of bloody riots until the military began a process of withdrawal from civilian politics in 2011.
The Association for the Assistance of Political Detainees said nearly 60 people were arrested in Myanmar on Tuesday.
Myanmar’s military has taken power, citing unfounded allegations of fraud in the November 8 election that Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won in a landslide. The Electoral Commission rejected the army’s complaints.
Late Tuesday, police raided NLD headquarters in Yangon during law enforcement hours. The raid was carried out by about a dozen police officers, who were forced to enter the building in the commercial capital after dark, elected lawmakers said.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party was to begin a second term on the day of the coup.
Along with the protests, a civil disobedience movement affected hospitals, schools and government offices. Naypyitaw’s ministry of electricity and energy was among the last to join the civil disobedience movement on Wednesday.
The protesters’ demands now go beyond the reversal of the coup.
They are also seeking the abolition of a 2008 constitution, drafted under military supervision, which gave the generals a veto in parliament and control of several ministries and for a diverse ethnic system in Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for his campaign for democracy and spent almost 15 years under house arrest.
The 75-year-old man faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkies and is being held in custody until February 15. Her lawyer said she was not allowed to see her.
Aung San Suu Kyi remains extremely popular at home, despite the deterioration of her international reputation due to the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority.