Large-scale demonstrations have erupted in Myanmar’s capital Yangon and across the country, with authorities firing rubber bullets at protesters in the southern Irrawaddy. A Chinese expatriate in Yangon told the station that authorities had blocked offshore websites for a week and resumed them this Sunday. Locals believe the protests could escalate further at any Time.
Last Saturday and this Sunday, Burmese people launched massive demonstrations to protest the military coup and demand the immediate release of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint from the military government. Demonstrators continued to gather in parts of Yangon through Monday, with the military using water cannon trucks to disperse the crowds.
Thousands of people participated in Sunday’s demonstrations. A video uploaded to Facebook by a Burmese netizen showed protesters holding a photo of Aung San Suu Kyi and demanding that the military government release her, while others held up a three-finger gesture. The government deployed riot police with shields to obstruct the protesters with a wire net formation in the streets near Yangon University, while water cannon trucks were on guard at the scene.
Local Chinese stay away from protest area to halt business activities
Mr. Zhang, an overseas Chinese businessman in Yangon, said in an interview with this station on Monday that the Internet has been intermittent for the past week, and he fears that there will be a larger demonstration at any time: “It’s so chaotic, and I’m worried about becoming a target of retaliation for leaving, but it’s useless to worry. The Internet has been disconnected for seven or eight days, and no software is available. Now Myanmar is so chaotic, where can I do business.”
According to several media reports, in the southern town of Ayeyarwady, a police officer fired at protesters for the first time to disperse the crowd, it is not known if anyone was injured. Online footage shows police firing at protesters in Ayeyarwady, on Myanmar’s border with Thailand, as the crowd disperses. According to China’s CCTV news, the police fired rubber bullets.
There have also been demonstrations in Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, where the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Andrews, said earlier that more than 160 people have been arrested since the military seized power. It was the largest demonstration in Myanmar since 2007.
Chinese urge not to take to the streets to avoid reprisals
Mr. Song, a Burmese expatriate, said that most Burmese people support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because the democratically elected government has “no choice”: “Although Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a bowl of rancid rice, Maung Aung Hlaing (commander of the National Defense Force) is a bowl of shit, and it is better to eat rancid rice than to eat shit. The 1988 constitution provides for the military to have oversight, but in the end it depends on how exactly this problem can be solved. It’s best for the Chinese to stay off the streets now to avoid reprisals.”
The National League for Democracy in Burma, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, confirmed that Yangon Governor Bleu Myint Teng and Mandalay Governor Zaw Min Maung were again taken into custody by the military.
Wu Qiang, a former lecturer in the political science department at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said the mass demonstrations in Burma were to be expected, saying that the democratization process in Burma is slower than expected: “Some of the democratic transformations that have taken place in this context have been easily stifled. What Aung San Suu Kyi was reflecting on in the 1980s and 1990s was actually a slow movement, in a slow evolution. But when she got majority support in last November’s general election, but then had the table turned by the junta, this time, the people showed their anger against the junta. Compared to the anger in 2007 under the leadership of the monks, they were defending their self-esteem.”
Wu Qiang said that in terms of geopolitical analysis, China, which is adjacent to Burma, is being optimistic because of its own interests in the country: “Burma is in the middle of geopolitics, in the key of the U.S., China and ASEAN, and the Burmese junta has taken advantage of the right-wing anti-democratic posture to launch a coup. China is optimistic.”
On February 1, the Burmese military staged a coup, arresting senior state minister and substantive government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others. In response to the sudden change in the political situation in Myanmar, Zhang Shengqi, president of the Yunnan-Myanmar Association, who has long been concerned about refugees in Myanmar, told the station that if the pro-democracy faction insists on expanding the conflict and street movement despite the signal sent by the military, it may eventually have to miss the opportunity for dialogue, leading to a river of blood in Myanmar: “The use of rubber bullets shows that the military has room to resolve the conflict through dialogue, and if the pro-democracy faction insists on expanding the conflict and street movement despite the signal sent by the military If the pro-democracy faction does not take into account the signal sent by the military and insists on expanding the conflict and the street movement, it may end up missing the opportunity for dialogue and lead to a river of blood in Burma.”
Mr. Zhang said the Burmese military has a history of suppressing mass demonstrations, and he fears that the situation will deteriorate further and end up in a tragic situation.
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