Myanmar coup: protesters flood streets for second day, condemning ‘military dictatorship’
- The surge in popular dissent over the weekend occurred as a nationwide blockade of the internet seemed to have come to an end
- Some protesters displayed the three-finger salute inspired by the Hunger Games films and used by pro-democracy protesters in Thailand last year
The fresh rally followed the largest protests to date on Saturday, when tens of thousands also came out in cities across the country to condemn the coup that brought a 10-year experiment with democracy to a crashing halt.
In Yangon, nearly 100,000 demonstrators gathered in an area of the city’s downtown known as the staging grounds for prior pro-democracy protests. The showing at Sule Pagoda, which has remained peaceful so far, marks the biggest protest there since the monk-led, anti-junta demonstrations in 2007 as part of the Saffron Revolution.
Footage of the demonstrations flooded social media as internet access was restored in the afternoon after the military-run government previously throttled access. Earlier in the day, around 2,000 demonstrators gathered close to Yangon University chanting “Long live Mother Suu” and “Down with military dictatorship”.
“We will move forward and keep demanding until we get democracy. Down with the military dictatorship,” said protester Myo Win, 37.
Despite the large-scale deployment of riot police – backed by water cannon – there have been no major clashes reported so far.