Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar’s main cities on Sunday for a ninth straight day of anti-coup demonstrations. After a night of fear, residents formed patrols and the military withdrew laws protecting freedom.
Engineering students dressed in white carried placards as they marched through the center of Yangon, the largest city. They demanded the release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the Burmese army overthrew the democratically elected government on Feb. 1.
Thousands of protesters, driving motorcycles or cars and carrying Aung San Suu Kyi’s head, marched through the capital Naypyidaw.
The charges against Aung San Suu Kyi stem from the seizure of an imported walkie-talkie from her official residence. But her detention is set to expire on Monday. Reuters reported that her lawyers could not be reached for comment on whether she would be released or remain in custody at that Time.
Human rights watchdog group the Political Prisoners Aid Association said 384 people have been detained since the coup, most of them arrested at night.
Many protesters in Yangon held signs calling on authorities to “stop abducting people at night.
On Saturday night, residents gathered in Yangon and Mandalay, the second largest city, to patrol the streets. They feared arrest attacks and the possibility of common crime after the junta ordered the release of thousands of prisoners.
In other residential areas, young men ganged up to chase people they considered suspicious while sounding the alarm by banging on pots and pans.
Also late Saturday, the military reinstated a law requiring people to report visitors staying overnight in their homes, while suspending a law that restricts security forces from detaining suspects or searching private homes without court approval. They also ordered the arrests of prominent figures who supported the mass protests.
The military coup in Myanmar sparked the largest street protests in more than a decade and was condemned by the West, with the United States announcing sanctions against the generals who initiated the coup. Other countries are also considering sanctions.
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