Myanmar protestors defy ban on gatherings as demonstrations intensify
Myanmar’s authorities have today extended areas where gatherings are restricted after protesters confronted police in cities across the country.
Gatherings of more than five people are banned, and curfews have been imposed in areas including the commercial hub of Yangon and the capital city of Naypyidaw.
The rules come after Myanmar police fired gunshots into the air on Tuesday as protesters showed their opposition to a military coup that halted a transition to democracy.
Civil unrest
The detention of elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has brought the largest demonstrations in more than decade as growing civil unrest effected hospitals, schools and government offices.
Youth activist Maung Saungkha called for the release of political prisoners and the end of dictatorship.
“We will continue to fight,” he said.
Arrests
Witnesses said police fired bullets into the air in Naypyidaw as crowds refused to disperse on the fourth straight day of protests.
Police also arrested at least 27 demonstrators, including a journalist, in the second-biggest city of Mandalay.
The unrest has revived memories of almost half a century of direct army rule.
Military control
The military began withdrawing from civilian politics in 2011 but never gave up its full control over Suu Kyi’s government after it won a 2015 election.
The military coup which ousted the government came as it was preparing for its second term in office after Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy swept a November general election.
Yangon resident Khin Min Soe said: “We are so disappointed and so sad whenever we think about why this has befallen us again.”