Myanmar: Anti-coup protests continue despite ban

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YNAGON, Myanmar (AA) – In Myanmar, Protesters took to the streets on Tuesday for the fourth straight day, defying the military's warning of legal action on public gatherings.

The State Administrative Council, headed by military chief Min Aung Hlaing after a coup last week, has imposed a nationwide all-night curfew and ban on public gatherings of more than five people.

Hundreds of thousands of anti-coup protesters rallied in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, the three largest cities, and other parts, demanding an end to military rule and the release of detained leaders.

Ko Ko Htay, a 62-year-old resident in Lanmadaw, a downtown township in Yangon, said they neither recognize the military rule nor take orders from them.

"It seems they are ready to crack down on us... we would not bow down but continue to protest till democracy and the civilian rule is restored," he told Anadolu Agency.

Security forces are deployed to prevent protesters in outskirt townships from marching to city centers, where mass demonstrations are taking place.

On Monday night, the military chief, in his first televised address since the takeover, assured new elections after a year of army rule.

Zin Mar Aung, a member of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), said they do not buy the military junta's promises.

"We had seen such false promises after the military coup in 1990 as well. It took two decades to return to civilian rule. So, we would not let this happen again," Aung told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

- The coup

Myanmar's military, officially known as the Tatmadaw, declared a state of emergency on Feb. 1, hours after detaining President Win Myint, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and other senior members of the ruling NLD party.

Suu Kyi served as the late counselor of Myanmar from 2016 to 2021, following a long struggle for democracy in the nation that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

But her silence over the massacre of Rohingya Muslims and defense of the military's genocide drew harsh criticism across the globe.

The coup took place hours before the first session of the country's new parliament was set to convene following elections last November in which Suu Kyi's NLD made sweeping gains. The military justifies the seizure of power due to "voter fraud" in the polls.