Large-scale demonstrations occurred in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, for the second consecutive day.
At 10 a.m. on the 7th, a large number of people took to the streets and gathered in Yangon transportation hub areas such as the Yangon Municipal Government and Laidan Square in the north.
They shouted slogans for the release of the detained leader of the National League for Democracy, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and opposed the forced takeover of power.
According to the local media Jinfengyi Newspaper, the number of people in this march was at least tens of thousands. The marchers and the police were relatively restrained.
There was no military and police closed the road with guns. The marching team also marched in an orderly manner and did not commit excessive behavior.
“The 7th protest was the biggest since 2007.” Reuters reported that tens of thousands of people participated in the protest demonstration in Yangon that day.
Protesters wore red shirts, held red flags and held red balloons – red represents the National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They shouted slogans: “We don’t want military dictatorship, we want democracy!” A large crowd gathered from all corners of Yangon to the city center.
They crowded the streets to Surita in the center of the city, which was the gathering place for Yangon’s previous protests, including large-scale demonstrations in 2007. In the street near Yangon University, a row of policemen with riot shields set up roadblocks and sent water cannon trucks to guard the scene, but did not try to stop the demonstration.
Some marchers presented flowers to the police to show peace, while most protesters made three-finger gestures that were considered to be the symbols of protesting autocracy.
It is understood that some protests on the 7th were initiated and organized by groups such as Generation 88 and Myanmar Student Union, with the participation of people from all walks of life.
Different from previous protests, the demonstration on the 7th lasted for a long time. The march and assembly basically ended at 2 p.m., but then there were long-term car horns and beating pots and pans. As of our reporter’s press, the protests were still in progress.
CNN said on the 7th that the protesters chose to change their route in order to avoid roadblocks and clash with the police. An eyewitness in Yangon said that the protest crowd on that day was mainly composed of young people, which seemed to be much larger and more organized than the protest on the 6th.
Affected by the disconnection, communication between protesters is mainly by text message, telephone and word of mouth. British Ambassador to Myanmar Zuger told the BBC on the 7th that the number of people participating in the demonstration is increasing.
“Doctors refuse to go to work, civil servants refuse to go to work, and the whole country is sad about what has happened”. The BBC said that so far, the Myanmar military has not stopped the demonstration. In fact, Myanmar remained largely calm after the military took over the government on Monday.
On the afternoon of the 7th, Norwegian telecommunications providers in Myanmar confirmed that Yangon Internet communication in Yangon, which had been interrupted for many days, had resumed. According to the Myanmar Times on the 6th, the new military-led government ordered on the 4th to close Facebook’s services in Myanmar until the 7th.
In addition, Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications has asked Internet and telecommunications service providers to stop providing services to Twitter and Instagram from the evening of February 5th, and the recovery time will be announced separately. Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said that misinformation that incites public opinion spreads on these two social platforms.
In addition, protests broke out in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, and Mandalay, the second largest city, on the 7th. Al Jazeera reported that the protests on the day were peaceful in general.
However, during the protests in the southeastern Myanmar town of Miaowadi, the police fired rubber bullets in the process of dispersing demonstrators. It is not clear whether there were casualties.
South Korea’s East Asia Daily said on the 7th that the actions of the people of Myanmar are spreading all over the country. Medical personnel refused to provide medical services to the army, and protesting car horns continued to appear in the city center.
Boycotts against beer and other products produced by military enterprises are also spreading.
Burmese citizens chose this method instead of large-scale street gatherings because of fear of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s safety. Because if street demonstrations stimulate the army and turn into violence, they may harm Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar NLD officials confirmed on the 7th that Yangon Governor Piao Min Deng and Mandalay Governor Sa Minhung, who had been released before, were taken from their homes by the military again.
Saminami’s family said that Saminami’s physical condition was very not optimistic when he was taken away that day. Yangon Governor Piao Minden was summoned to take him away from his home yesterday.
In the early morning of February 1 local time, the above-mentioned two people were released on the 2nd after being detained in their residence by the Myanmar military for a day.
Previously, there were rumors that the NLD leader would be released on the evening of the 6th. Someone in Yangon immediately celebrated and set off fireworks and firecrackers, which was later confirmed to be rumors.
According to the Myanmar Times, Myanmar’s new Foreign Minister Winna Maung Lun and Minister of International Cooperation, Brother Lai, have been in contact with embassies and United Nations agencies in Myanmar since the 5th to explain the reason and process of the takeover.
Reuters reported that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s economic adviser, Australian Shan Danai, has also been controlled by the military.
Sowin, the second person of the newly established National Management Council, also held a video conversation with the United Nations Special Envoy for Myanmar on the evening of the 5th to introduce the takeover of the regime.
