Burmese protesters took to the streets Tuesday (April 6), spraying red paint on roads in some cities to protest the junta’s bloody crackdown. The red paint symbolizes the bloodied hands of the junta.
Protests against the junta have continued since the Burmese military overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup on Feb. 1, and these protests have been violently suppressed by security forces. As of Monday, some 570 people had been killed in the violent crackdown by the military, according to the Aid Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an independent nonprofit organization in Myanmar.
In Hpa-an, the capital of Karen State, young people spray-painted red paint on roads and raised their hands in a three-finger salute, AFP reported. The three-finger salute, derived from “The Hunger Games,” has become a gesture of defiance against tyranny.
In Yangon, Myanmar’s top city, people sprayed red paint on bus stops, sidewalks and streets to protest a crackdown by security forces, Reuters reported.
“The blood is not dry yet.” reads one of the signs spray-painted by the protesters.
Protesters also sprayed signs at bus stops asking ordinary soldiers not to work for the “thieving generals” who cling to power. One of the signs read, “Don’t kill for wages as low as the price of dog food.”
The water festival, which is celebrated every year from April 13 to 16, is a festival for the Burmese people to welcome the Burmese New Year. Reuters also said some groups have called for a boycott of the water festival, and a boycott leaflet sent out by people in Yangon said it would be a sign of sympathy for the families of those killed.
Another protest scheduled for Wednesday calls for the burning of Chinese-made goods. Many Burmese protesters are angry at the Chinese government for what they see as its support of the military government.
Several Western countries have repeatedly condemned the military coup in Burma and imposed sanctions on those involved in it. China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said last week that he hoped Myanmar would restore peace and stability and constitutional order as soon as possible, but that he opposed “unilateral pressure” and sanctions from foreign countries against the country.
AFP also reported that 10 ethnic minority anti-government forces in Myanmar expressed support for the protest movement over the weekend, raising fears that Myanmar could descend into a wider civil war.
Christine Schraner Burgener, the U.N. special envoy to Burma, also warned the Security Council last week that “massacres are imminent” and that if civilian rule is not restored, “the possibility of civil war” in Burma ” will grow.
Recent Comments