YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Police fired a water cannon on Monday at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital demanding that the military’s power return to elected officials as demonstrations against last week’s coup intensified and spread to several parts of the country.
The demonstrations in Naypyitaw, held for several days, are particularly significant, because the city, whose population includes many civil servants and their families, has no tradition of protest and has a heavy military presence.
A protest also rose at a major intersection in the city center, the largest city in the country, Yangon, with people chanting slogans, raising a three-fingered salute, a symbol of resistance, and carrying placards saying: “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar. ”
There were also reports of new demonstrations in cities in the north, south-east and east of the country, as well as in the city of Mandalay, where a procession of marches and motorcycles took place.
“We don’t want a military junta,” said Daw Moe, a Yangon protester. “I never wanted this joint. Nobody wants her. All people are ready to fight them. ”
The state media, for the first time, on Monday referred to the protests, claiming that they endanger the country’s stability.
“Democracy can be destroyed if there is no discipline,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Information, 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.”
The coup was seen internationally as a shocking setback for Myanmar, which had made progress towards democracy in recent years after five decades of military rule. The takeover came on the day when the newly elected parliamentarians had to take their seats in Parliament after the November elections. The generals said the vote was marred by fraud – although the country’s election commission rejected the claim.
The growing protests are reminiscent of previous movements in the country’s long and bloody struggle for democracy in Southeast Asia. On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the city’s Sule Pagoda, which was a focal point of demonstrations against military rule during a massive 1988 uprising and again during a 2007 uprising led by Buddhist monks. The military used deadly force to end both uprisings. Except for a few officers, soldiers were not on the streets protesting last week.
The photos he faced on Monday in Naypyitaw showed a large crowd of protesters surrounded on several sides by a large number of police officers and police vehicles. Officers there fired a water cannon at the crowd, which was gathered near a giant statue of Aung San, who led the country’s 1940s struggle for independence from Britain and is the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader. who was fired by those last week. take over. Suu Kyi – who became an international symbol of the country’s struggle for freedom while being held at home for 15 years and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts – is now back under house arrest.
The risks of such clashes were highlighted on Sunday in Myawaddy, on Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, when police fired into the air in an effort to disperse a crowd. The political detainee assistance association, an independent security group, said a woman was shot without giving details of her condition.
There were no signs that either the protesters or the military would return to their fight over who the country’s legitimate government is: politicians in Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which won the recent landslide election, or the junta. . The Suu Kyi Party has called for international recognition as legitimate representatives of the people.
A general strike call was launched late Sunday by several activist groups in Yangon, but it was unclear whether it was widely disseminated or adopted by the informally organized civil disobedience movement at the forefront of the protests.
The Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners says 165 people, mostly politicians, have been detained since the February 1 coup, with only 13 released.
A foreigner has been confirmed to be detained by authorities, Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Australia, who was an adviser to the Suu Kyi government. He was detained on Saturday in unclear circumstances.
A statement issued Monday by the office of Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said he was being given consular support and described him as “a highly regarded adviser, a member of the academic community”.
“We certainly believe he should be released immediately,” he said.
The military has accused Suu Kyi’s government of failing to respond to complaints that the November elections last year were marred by fraud, although the election commission said it had found no evidence to support the allegations.