Myanmar coup: thousands protest amid fear of night arrests, security patrols

Protests demanding the release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi are being held in major cities for a ninth day, after the February 1 coup

The army rolled back laws protecting freedoms and allowed security forces to detain suspects and search private property without court approval

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Demonstrators hold placards calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the end of nightly arrest raids, during a protest against the military coup in Yangon on February 14. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:00pm, 14 Feb 2021Updated: 9:53pm, 14 Feb 2021

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday, after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freedoms.

Engineering students marched through downtown Yangon, the biggest city, wearing white and carrying placards demanding the release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since Myanmar’s military overthrew her elected government on February 1.

Part of the biggest street protests in more than a decade, a fleet of highway buses rolled slowly through the city, honking their horns in protest.

A convoy on motorbikes and in cars drove through the capital Naypyidaw. In the southeastern coastal town of Dawei, a band played drums in shadows cast by awnings as crowds marched under the hot sun. In Waimaw, in the far northern Kachin state on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, crowds carried flags and sang revolutionary songs.

Many of the protesters nationwide held up images of Suu Kyi’s face.

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