Tens Of Thousands Take To The Streets In Myanmar Anti-coup Protests

Tens of thousands of anti-coup protesters have poured back onto the streets of Myanmar on Sunday, raising their hands in a three-fingered salute during the second day of mass demonstrations against the military takeover. 
The gesture is a symbol of resistance inspired by the Hunger Games film franchise, which takes place in a dystopian world whose characters live under a brutal totalitarian government that severely restricts their rights.
The salute was first taken up by Thai protesters opposing a 2014 military coup and has been a noticeable feature of pro-democracy demonstrations in the country ever since, including mass rallies last year.
Myanmarese protesters have now adopted the symbol of resistance at huge demonstrations against last Monday's arrest of de-facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top officials. 
Armed police clashed with a crowd in the southeastern town of Myawaddy, as live video published on Facebook showed shots were heard as police tried to break up the protest. 
Tens of thousands of anti-coup protesters have poured back onto the streets of Myanmar on Sunday, raising their hands in a three-fingered salute during the second day of mass demonstrations against the military takeover.

The gesture is a symbol of resistance inspired by the Hunger Games film franchise, which takes place in a dystopian world whose characters live under a brutal totalitarian government that severely restricts their rights. Pictured: tour chùa yên tử Protesters in Yangon on Sunday flash the salute
The protests on Saturday and Sunday were the first mass demonstrations condemning the coup that brought a 10-year experiment with partial democracy to a crashing halt.

Pictured: Protesters flash a three-fingered salute - a symbol of resistance - during a demonstration in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Sunday
This weekend's demonstrations are the biggest protests in Myanmar since the 2007 Saffron Revolution that helped spur a transition to democracy.

Pictured: A protester at a barricade hands a rose to a policeman during the demonstration in Yangon on Sunday
Demonstrators chanted slogans like: 'We don't want military dictatorship!

We want democracy!' Pictured: Protesters in Yangon on Sunday
In the video, uniformed police armed with guns rush at a crowd of a couple of hundred demonstrators. 
Shots can be heard but it is unclear what kind of munitions were used or whether there are any casualties. 
The Myawaddy protest was just one taking place across Myanmar on Sunday following the first mass demonstrations a day earlier condemning the coup that brought a 10-year experiment with partial democracy to a crashing halt.
Armed police (pictured) clashed with a crowd in the southeastern town of Myawaddy, as live video published on Facebook showed shots were heard as police tried to break up the protest
In a Facebook live video, uniformed police armed with guns rush at a crowd of a couple of hundred demonstrators in the southeastern town of Myawaddy
It is unclear what kind of munitions were used or whether there are any casualties at a protest in Myawaddy where gunshots were heard .

Aside from this incident, the protests have been largely peaceful
This weekend's demonstrations are the biggest protests in the country since the 2007 Saffron Revolution that helped spur a transition to democracy. 
Aside from the Myawaddy incident, the protests have been peaceful. 
Backed by a din of car horns, tens of thousands of changing protesters in Yangon, the largest city, held up banners reading 'Justice for Myanmar' and 'We do not want military dictatorship', while others waved the signature red flags of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. 
Many of those present wore red t-shirts and carried red balloons in support of the NLD, chanting: 'We don't want military dictatorship!

We want democracy!' 
Many protesters have flashed a three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games movie franchise.

The salute was first adopted by pro-democracy demonstrators in Thailand in 2014. Pictured: Protesters in Naypyidaw flash the salute from their cars
Protesters on scooters drive through the streets of Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, on Sunday as part of mass anti-coup protests across the country
Protesters in Yangon demonstrate against last Monday's military coup and demand the release of Suu Kyi on Sunday
Many protesters wore red or waved the signature red flags of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party to show support for the ousted leader.

Pictured: Protesters march through the streets of Yangon on Sunday
'I completely despise the military coup and I am not afraid of a crackdown,' said Kyi Phyu Kyaw, a 20-year-old university student.
'I will join every day until Amay Suu (Mother Suu) is freed.'
The Yangon protesters had started gathering at City Hall in the afternoon, after their paths to downtown Yangon were blocked at many points by riot police. 
'We will fight until the end,' said Ye Kyaw, an 18-year-old economics student.
'The next generation can have democracy if we end this military dictatorship.'
THAILAND: A Myanmarese woman living in Thailand holds up a sign denouncing military chief General Min Aung Hlaing during  a demonstration in the Thai capital Bangkok on Sunday
THAILAND: Protests against the coup in Myanmar have also taken place among diaspora communities  in Thailand and Japan. Pictured: Demonstrators brandish the flag of Myanmar and pictures of Suu Kyi during a protest outside Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok on Sunday
THAILAND: Riot police officers line up as Myanmar citizens in Thailand protest against the military coup outside a United Nations venue in Bangkok on Sunday
THAILAND: Protesters take part in a demonstration against the coup in Myanmar outside the country's embassy in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday
'We don't want to live under military boots,' 29-year-old protester Ye Yint said. 
The surge in popular dissent over the weekend overrode a nationwide internet blackout, similar in magnitude to an earlier shutdown that coincided with the arrest of Suu Kyi and other senior leaders on Monday.
Later on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported that the internet had been restored in Yangon, citing residents.
There was no comment from the military in the capital Naypyitaw, more than 350 km (220 miles) north of Yangon. 
Backed by a din of car horns, tens of thousands of changing protesters in Yangon, the largest city, held up banners bearing pro-democracy messages.

Pictured: A protester holds a saying reading: 'Give back our democracy' during a protest in Yangon on Sunday
Demonstrators hold placards showing detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which read: tour chùa yên tử 'We want our leader free' during a protest in Yangon on Sunday
The surge in popular dissent over the weekend overrode a nationwide internet blackout, similar in magnitude to an earlier shutdown that coincided with the arrest of Suu Kyi and other senior leaders on Monday.

Pictured: A protester in Yangon on Sunday
Online calls to protest have prompted bold displays of defiance in Myanmar.

Pictured: Protesters during a demonstration in Yangon on Sunday
Online calls to protest have prompted bold displays of defiance, including the nightly deafening clamour of people banging pots and pans - a practice traditionally associated in the country with driving out evil spirits.
There was a smaller protest in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city while a crowd of hundreds spent the night outside a police station in the town of Payathonzu in Karen state in the southeast, where they believed local NLD lawmakers had been arrested.
There were also protests in other Asian countries, with some 300 people gathering at the United Nations office in Bangkok and Sunday, prompting Thai authorities to deploy riot police though there were no reports of clashes. 
The coup last Monday took the international community by surprise.

Pictured: A demonstrator chants while walking past riot police in Yangon on Sunday
Myanmar watches were aware of fracturing between civilian leader Suu Kyi and the military but assumed officials would be too concerned with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Myanmar's economic woes to stage a coup.

Pictured: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Yangon on Sunday
Doctors, teachers, lawyers and other professionals have supported the protests in social media videos.

Pictured: Medical staff in Yangon raise a three-fingered salute as protesters pass on Sunday
A convoy of demonstrators on motorbikes parade in the capital Naypyitaw on Sunday holding signs that read: 'Give us back people's power'
Protests were also held in the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka over the weekend.

In Tokyo, a crowd of more than 5,000 gathered outside Myanmar's embassy on Sunday to protest the coup.
Those gathered in Bangkok and Japan also raised the three-fingered salute. 
'#Myanmar's military and police must ensure the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals,' the United Nations Human Rights office tweeted after Saturday's protests.  
One young protester has promised to join rallies 'every day' until Suu Kyi is freed.

Pictured: Protesters in Yangon flash the three-fingered salute as they demand Suu Kyi's release
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Many young Myanmarese people are vocally opposed to the military takeover, having lived under partial democracy since 2007.

Pictured: Protesters in Yangon carry a banner reading: 'You messed with the wrong generation' on Sunday
As the protests gathered steam this week, the military junta ordered telecom networks to freeze access to Facebook.

Pictured: Demonstrators wave Workers Union and Student Union flags in front of Yangon City Hall during Sunday's protest
On Sunday, live Facebook video feeds showed the Yangon protesters as they marched through the streets.

It was not immediately clear how they bypassed the government block. Pictured: Protesters march through the streets of Yangon on Sunday
Also on Sunday, Pope Francis expressed his 'solidarity with the people' of Myanmar and urged leaders of the Buddhist-majority nation to seek 'democratic' harmony.
'I pray that those in positions of responsibility in the country show sincere willingness to serve the common good, promoting social justice and national stability for a harmonious and democratic co-existence,' Francis, who visited Myanmar in 2017, said in his Sunday address at St.

Peter's Square.
As the protests gathered steam this week, the military junta ordered telecom networks to freeze access to Facebook, an extremely popular service in the country and arguably its main mode of communication.
Young Buddhist monks raise the three-fingered salute - a symbol of resistance inspired by the Hunger Games film franchise - during a protest in Yangon on Sunday
Protesters shout slogans and sing songs during a demonstration in Yangon on Sunday.

Many attending wore red, the colour of Suu Kyi's NLD party
Yangon residents watch from their balconies as tens of thousands of protesters march through the city's streets on Sunday in the largest demonstration since the 2007 protests which helped kick off the country's transition to democracy
Protesters carry a flag bearing the symbol of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party through the streets of Yangon on Sunday
The platform had hosted a rapidly growing 'Civil Disobedience Movement' forum that had inspired civil servants, healthcare professionals and teachers to show their dissent by boycotting their jobs.
On Sunday, live Facebook video feeds showed the Yangon protesters as they marched through the streets.

It was not immediately clear how they bypassed the government block.
The military had widened its efforts to quell organised dissent on Friday when it demanded new blocks on other social media services including Twitter.
The military had widened its efforts to quell organised dissent on Friday when it demanded new blocks on other social media services including Twitter.

Pictured: Riot police in Yangon on Sunday
Dozens of people have been detained since last Monday's coup, in addition to Suu Kyi, 75, and her top aides.

Pictured: Police stand guard on a Yangon street during Sunday's demonstration
The precise number of arrests made since the coup is not yet known, but monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said on Saturday that more than 150 people were still in custody.

Pictured: People offer flowers to police officers during a demonstration in Yangon on Sunday
Tom Anders, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, has accused the military of attempting to 'keep the outside world in the dark' by cutting off the internet.

Pictured: A policeman holds flowers given to him by a protester in Yangon
Speaking on Sunday before reports of internet restrictions being lifted in Yangon, monitoring group Netblocks said that Myanmar 'remains in the midst of a nation-scale internet blackout', with connectivity at 14 percent of usual levels.
Tom Anders, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said: 'The generals are now attempting to paralyse the citizen movement of resistance - and keep the outside world in the dark - by cutting virtually all internet access.'
Dozens have been detained so far, in addition to Suu Kyi, 75, and her top aides.
The precise number of arrests is not yet known, but monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said on Saturday that more than 150 people were still in custody. 
Rumours that Suu Kyi had been released triggered brief but raucous street celebrations among her supporters on Saturday, before they were denied by her lawyer who said Suu Kyi remained in detention and he has not been able to see her. 
Aung San Suu Kyi (pictured) remains an immensely popular figure in Myanmar despite her tarnished reputation abroad over her defence of the military's brutal crackdown on the Rohingya ethnic minority [File photo]
Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the coup, but a party spokesman said on Friday that she was 'in good health'.

Pictured: Protesters in Yangon hold portraits of Suu Kyi (right portrait) and her father, Myanmar's independence hero Aung San (centre portrait)
JAPAN: Myanmarese residents living in Japan stage a rally against the military takeover in the city of Osaka on Sunday, demanding the release of Suu Kyi
JAPAN: A protester holds a picture of Suu Kyi during a protest by Myanmar people living in Japan outside Myanmar's embassy in Tokyo on Sunday.

The protest drew more than 5,000 people
JAPAN: Protesters hold pictures of Suu Kyi during a huge demonstration outside Myanmar's embassy in Tokyo on Sunday
A Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during decades of struggling to end almost half a century of army rule before the start of a troubled transition to democracy in 2011.
She remains an immensely popular figure at home despite a tarnished reputation abroad.
Suu Kyi was sharply criticised for failing to condemn the military's brutal crackdown on the Rohingya ethnic minority.

In 2019 she lost what remaining credibility she had among the international community when she defended the military at an International Criminal Court hearing into atrocities against the Rohingyas in 2017. 
Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during decades of struggling to end almost half a century of army rule before the start of a troubled transition to democracy in 2011.

Pictured: Riot police stand guard in front of the Sule Pagoda on Sunday during an anti-coup protest in Yangon
The coup has been widely condemned by the international community, with US President Joe Biden leading calls for the generals to relinquish power and release those arrested in the post-coup crackdown. Pictured: Riot police stand guard in front of the Sule Pagoda on Sunday during an anti-coup protest in Yangon
Two days after the coup, criminal charges were filed against Suu Kyi related to the illegal import of a set of walkie-talkies.

Pictured: kynghidongduong.vn Riot police stand guard in front of the Sule Pagoda on Sunday during an anti-coup protest in Yangon 
The military had hinted at its coup intentions days in advance, with army commander Min Aung Hlaing insisting that the NLD's landslide victory in November elections was the result of voter fraud.

Pictured: Riot police stand guard in front of the Sule Pagoda on Sunday during an anti-coup protest in Yangon
Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since the coup, but a party spokesman said on Friday that she was 'in good health'.
Two days after the coup, criminal charges were filed against her related to the illegal import of a set of walkie-talkies. 
The military had hinted at its coup intentions days in advance, with army commander Min Aung Hlaing insisting that the NLD's landslide victory in November elections was the result of voter fraud.
Following the takeover, the junta proclaimed a one-year state of emergency after which it promised to hold fresh elections, without offering any precise timeframe.
The coup took the international community by surprise, with Myanmar watchers expecting those in power to be too consumed with managing the coronavirus pandemic and the country's struggling economy to act on fractures with the NLD.
Many countries were quick to condemn the power grab, with US President Joe Biden leading calls for the generals to relinquish power and release those arrested in the post-coup crackdown. 
Following the takeover, the junta proclaimed a one-year state of emergency after which it promised to hold fresh elections, without offering any precise timeframe.

Pictured: Protesters in Yangon on Sunday
JAPAN: More than 5,000 people gathered outside Myanmar's embassy in Tokyo, Japan, to protest the coup on Sunday.

Protests also took place in Thailand and across Myanmar
JAPAN: Protesters stamp on a sign bearing an image of Myanmar general Min Aung Hlaing that reads 'Shame on you, dictator' during a protest in Tokyo on Sunday
Rumours that Suu Kyi had been released triggered brief but raucous street celebrations among her supporters on Saturday, before they were denied by her lawyer who said Suu Kyi remained in detention and he has not been able to see her.

Pictured: A young Buddhist novice flashes a three-fingered salute, a symbol of resistance to the military coup, from inside a vehicle in Yangon on Sunday