AFP, Yangon
Published:15 Feb 2021, 02:59 PM
Protest across Myanmar continue after night of fear
Tens 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 Naypyitaw. In the south-eastern 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.
Her detention, on charges of importing walkie-talkies, is
due to expire on Monday. Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, could not be reached for
comment on what was set to happen.
More than 384 people have been detained since the coup,
the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said, in a
wave of mostly nightly arrests.
"While the international community is condemning the
coup, Min Aung Hlaing is using every tool he has to instigate fears and
instabilities," activist Wai Hnin Pwint Thon from the UK-based rights
group Burma Campaign UK said on Twitter, referring to the army chief.
'Stop kidnapping people'
Many protesters in Yangon carried signs calling to
authorities to “stop kidnapping people at night.”
Residents banded together late on Saturday to patrol
streets in Yangon and the country's second-largest city Mandalay, fearing
arrest raids as well as common crime after the junta ordered the release of
thousands of prisoners.
In different neighbourhoods, groups of mostly young men
banged on pots and pans to sound the alarm as they chased down what they
believed to be suspicious characters.
Worries about criminal activity have soared since Friday,
when the junta announced it would free 23,000 prisoners, saying the move was
consistent with “establishing a new democratic state with peace, development
and discipline” and would “please the public.”
Unverified pictures on social media have fuelled rumours
that criminals are trying to stir unrest by setting fires or poisoning water
supplies.
Tin Myint, a resident of Sanchaung township in Yangon, was
among the crowds who detained a group of four people suspected of carrying out
an attack in the neighbourhood.
"We think the military intends to cause violence with
these criminals by infiltrating them into peaceful protests," he said.
He cited pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, when the
military was widely accused of releasing criminals into the population to stage
attacks, later citing the unrest as a justification for extending their own
power.
Three people in different parts of Yangon said they had
seen drones hovering above the crowds. "It was flying up and down and
filming the crowd chasing after thieves," said 30-year-old Htet, who asked
to be identified by only one name. The government and army could not be reached
for comment.
Also, late on Saturday, the army reinstated a law
requiring people to report overnight visitors to their homes, allowed security
forces to detain suspects and search private property without court approval,
and ordered the arrest of well-known backers of mass protests.
The coup has been denounced by Western countries, with the
United States announcing some sanctions on the ruling generals and other
countries also considering measures.