Factory workers in Yangon rally against a military coup.
Reuters reported that a large number of people in Yangon rallied on Thursday, carrying textbooks praising the military government and planning to destroy them together at the rally. In response, police took countermeasures by blocking the gates of several universities and preventing students from leaving the campus to attend the rally.
Outside the main campus of Yangon University, Kaung Sat Wai, 25, said, “We students must defeat the dictatorship. Since the coup, our lives have become hopeless and our Dreams have gone down the drain.”
In central Yangon, some 1,000 “pro-military” rallies were held, with some pro-establishment activists intimidating journalists and at one point clashing with anti-coup activists, while some pro-military activists threw stones and used slingshots to shoot miscellaneous objects. Some netizens posted photos on social media platforms showing pro-military people arriving in police cars and wearing headphones, so some netizens questioned whether they were sent by the military to cause trouble.
Many middle-class professionals and civil servants also responded to the call, with some doctors launching a “white robe revolution” and calling for a rally on Thursday. The military earlier shot and cracked down on the protesters, killing at least three of them, and some human rights groups pointed out that by Wednesday, a total of 728 people had been arrested, prosecuted or sentenced by the authorities.
Earlier in the day, news broke that Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was planning to visit Myanmar on Thursday, possibly becoming the first foreign official to visit the country since the coup. Retno, who has not yet made the trip, is reportedly in Thailand and Indonesia is reportedly interested in leading an ASEAN effort to resolve the political crisis in Myanmar.
In addition, the international community continues to pressure the Burmese military, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported that The Japanese government will suspend official development assistance (ODA) to Myanmar, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsushin responded that the news “has no basis in fact,” but he said the Kan government will continue to monitor the situation on the ground and consider different options.
The Malaysian government deported 1,100 Burmese refugees on Wednesday despite a Malaysian court injunction, and the Burmese navy said the refugees will arrive in Myanmar on Saturday, where they will face persecution by the Burmese military, creating a humanitarian crisis. The U.S. government has expressed concern about the situation, and Washington has urged countries to consider the special circumstances of Myanmar to delay the repatriation, while some Malaysian lawmakers and human rights groups have demanded an explanation from the Malaysian government.
In addition, the social networking platform Facebook announced that it will immediately stop the Burmese military from using Facebook and instagram accounts, and will also prohibit all companies connected with the Burmese military from selling advertisements.
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