Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Burmese armed forces who spearheaded the military coup, said he would continue to rule for another six months after the expiration of the one-year state of emergency, meaning he would be in power for at least 18 months. The second largest city, Mandalay, has seen its first post-coup street demonstrations.
About 70 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), to which Aung San Suu Kyi belongs, signed the “Service to the People” pledge at the government guest house in the capital Naypyidaw on the 4th. The action was only a symbolic meeting to show that elected members of parliament are the legitimate members of parliament, not the military. MPs expressed their anger and determination to resist the coup, with Khin Soe Soe Kyi saying, “This is not a coup, it’s a mutiny, it’s treason.
In Mandalay, the second largest city, the first street demonstration since the coup, about 20 people shouted slogans such as “People protest against the military coup, stop military rule” in front of the University of Medicine to protest the coup, but were dispersed by police. Residents of Yangon responded for the second consecutive night on the 3rd by banging pots and pans in protest, and graffiti slogans reading “No dictator” appeared on the streets. (Makyay Bu), a song from the failed 1988 popular uprising against the military dictatorship, was also revived as a show of defiance.
Min Aung Hlaing quickly consolidated his power after the coup, establishing the State Council as its own chairman, and taking control of the legislative, executive and judicial powers. The National Union (KNU), a Karen political organization that has long been an armed opposition to the central government, is a member of the KNU. He met with a group of business people late at night on the 3rd, saying he would stay in power for six months after the end of the one-year state of emergency to ensure a fair election.
Thousands of people rallied in support of the military on the 4th, trying to create the impression that public opinion supports the military government; the military informed telecoms providers to cut off their connections to social media Facebook until the 7th on the grounds of “maintaining stability”. NetBlocks, an Internet usage analysis group, pointed out that Facebook’s Instagram, WhatsApp and other platforms were also blocked. A large number of Burmese internet users turned to Twitter, with supporters using the hashtag “What’s Happening in Myanmar” (#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar) to let the outside world know about the coup.
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