Four arrested in Mandalay after street protest against military coup 

 

Four arrested in Mandalay after street protest against military coup 

Demonstrators shouted 'Down with military rule!' during the protest outside a medical university 

Myanmar Now
Published on Feb 5, 2021
The protesters yelled 'Down with military rule!'
The protesters yelled 'Down with military rule!'

Fifteen people protested against the coup on Thursday morning in front of the medical university in Myanmar’s central city of Mandalay, in what appeared to be the first time that demonstrators have taken to the streets to resist the military regime since its power grab on Monday. 

Protestors shouted “Down with military rule!” and held signs reading “Protect democracy”, “Respect the people’s votes”, and “The public does not accept violence”.

Four people were detained, a witness told Myanmar Now. They are Okkar Min, Min Nyi Nyi Kun, Ye Win Tun and Pyae Sone Aung. 

Police grabbed them after the protesters had dispersed, the witness said.

Five police vehicles were parked in front of the university where the protest took place as security personnel guarded the area, they added. 

The military seized power early Monday morning, just hours before the Lower House was set to convene and certify the result of last year’s November 8 election, which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide. 

The NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and President Win Myint were among dozens of politicians arrested in pre-dawn raids that also targeted political dissidents and Buddhist monks. 

Suu Kyi and Win Myint are both facing charges that carry prison sentences of up to three years.

Signs of resistance have been growing this week following a call by Suu Kyi for the public to resist the military regime, written before her detention in anticipation of the coup. 

Medical workers have staged walkouts and put on red ribbons, while Yangon erupted in enourmous city-wide noise protests on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening as residents banged pots, iron railings and water bottles. 

On Wednesday evening the regime ordered telecoms companies to block access to Facebook, where support for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign was fast gaining momentum. 

Telenor Myanmar issued a statement saying it had complied with the directive. “While the directive has legal basis in Myanmar law, Telenor does not believe that the request is based on necessity and proportionality, in accordance with international human rights law,” the statement said.

“Telenor Myanmar has decided to comply with the directive on 4 February 2021, while expressing grave concerns regarding breach of human rights,” it added. 

The directive ordered the companies to block the platform until just before midnight on February 7. 

Soon after removing Win Myint as president on Monday, the military appointed its handpicked vice president, former general Myint Swe, to replace him.

As acting president, Myint Swe declared a one-year state of emergency and transferred power to the commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who now leads the newly formed State Administrative Council.

Eight of the 11 members of the new ruling council, which was formed on Tuesday, are from the military.

The new regime announced that it would hold new general elections and transfer power to the winning party.

The military claims, without evidence, to have found over 10 million irregularities in voter lists used during last year’s election, which it said could have resulted in vote-rigging.

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.

 
Veteran activist calls for civil disobedience in wake of coup

Min Ko Naing, a leader of the 1988 uprising, has urged the public to take a ‘no recognition, no participation’ approach to the new military regime

Myanmar Now
Published on Feb 3, 2021
Min Ko Naing, a leader of the 1988 uprising.

One of the leaders of Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy uprising has released a statement calling on the public not to recognize the military council that seized power on Monday or participate in its newly appointed government.

Min Ko Naing, who spent most of his youth in prison for his resistance to previous military regimes, issued the call in a handwritten statement released on Tuesday.

“We can no longer be the slaves of military dictators, content with the pennies they spare us,” the 58-year-old former student leader wrote. “May we all live as human beings with our fundamental rights!”

The military seized power early Monday morning, just hours before the Lower House was set to convene and certify the results of last year’s November 8 election, which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.

The NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and President Win Myint were among dozens of lawmakers who were arrested in pre-dawn raids that also targeted dissidents and monks who took part in the 2007 Saffron Revolution.

Suu Kyi and Win Myint are both currently facing charges that could land them in prison for up to three years.

Soon after removing Win Myint as president, the military appointed its handpicked vice president, former general Myint Swe, to replace him.

As acting president, Myint Swe declared a one-year state of emergency and transferred power to the commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who now leads the newly formed State Administrative Council.

In a broadcast on the military-run Myawaddy television station, the new regime announced that general elections would be held a year from now, with power being handed over to the winning party.

The military claimed it had found over 10 million irregularities in voter lists used during last year’s election, which it said could have resulted in vote-rigging.

Eight of the 11 members of the new ruling council, which was formed on Tuesday, are from the military.

The three remaining members are Phado Man Nyein Maung, a former leading figure in the Karen National Union, and Thein Nyunt and Khin Maung Swe, former members of the NLD who split from the party to form the National Democratic Force in 2010.

Min Ko Naing’s call to reject the new council’s authority comes amid a growing civil disobedience movement by public servants and medical workers, who have vowed to stop working on Wednesday to protest the coup.

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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Three Saffron Revolution monks among those detained in February 1 raids

Soldiers ‘broke down monastery doors’ during one raid, monks who witnessed it said

Myanmar Now
Published on Feb 3, 2021
The Myawaddy Sayadaw, dressed in layman's clothes, appeared for a hearing on Wednesday. He was disrobed following his arrest on February 1

At least three Buddhist monks who took part in the 2007 Saffron Revolution against the military were among those detained during early morning raids on Monday as commander-in chief Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup.  

Video footage obtained by Myanmar Now shows police sitting on the floor before Sayadaw U Ariyawuntha, the abbot at Mandalay’s Myawaddy Mingyi monastery and one of the military’s most outspoken critics, shortly before arresting him. 

In what looked like an impromptu sermon, the monk told the officers: “The reason why our country became impoverished is because the soldiers and monks want to enrich themselves… We are responsible for correcting the bad behaviours of our countrymen.”

The monk, also known as the Myawaddy Sayadaw, had already been charged by the army in September last year under article 500 of the penal code for defamation, which carries a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment. He had been out on bail and attending court hearings. 

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Myawaddy Sayardaw before he was disrobed. (Photo: Myanmar Now) 

He was taken to a court in Mandalay on Tuesday and Wednesday for hearings related to his ongoing case. At the hearings he had been disrobed and was wearing a maroon coloured sweater. 

On Wednesday morning, as he was taken in a police van from the court back to the prison in Mandalay, he told reporters that the coup is a violation of the constitution and that his court hearings today and yesterday went ahead without his lawyer. 

Another Buddhist monk based in Mandalay, Ashin Sobhita, was also detained in an early morning raid on Monday. Fellow monks said soldiers dressed in full tactical gear broke open the monastery doors and cuffed Sobhita’s hands behind his back before taking him away. 

Both monks joined the 2007 protests, which were stamped out by soldiers who shot demonstrators in the streets, but managed to evade arrest in the aftermath of the crackdown. 

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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Aung San Suu Kyi and ousted president Win Myint charged under laws that carry three-year sentences

Suu Kyi is accused of illegally importing walkie-talkies and Win Myint with breaching Covid-19 regulations during an election campaign event

Myanmar Now
Published on Feb 3, 2021
Suu Kyi is accused of illegally importing walkie-talkies and Win Myint with breaching Covid-19 regulations during an election campaign event

Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with illegally importing walkie-talkies that soldiers found in her home during early morning raids as the military staged a coup on Monday, according to a police document.

Ousted president Win Myint, meanwhile, was hit with a charge under the Natural Disaster Management Law for breaching regulations aimed at curbing Covid-19 while campaigning in last year’s election, a separate document said. 

A task force led by Major Lin Htut Oo from the office of the commander-in-chief found 10 walkie-talkies during the raid on Aung San Suu Kyi’s Naypyitaw residence. She has been charged under article 8 of the Export and Import Law.

The police documents were submitted to the Zabuthiri Township court in Naypyitaw on the day of the coup. It is unclear if Suu Kyi and Win Myint were brought in for a hearing.

They have each been remanded in custody until February 15, when they would be due to appear in court unless police extend the remand. Both charges carry a maximum prison sentence of up to three years.

The charge against Win Myint relates to a campaign event he attended on September 20. The police document said Win Myint and his family members greeted supporters outside his residence during the event, which was attended by about 760 people riding in vehicles. 

He is being charged under article 25 of the natural disaster law for breaching Covid-19 restrictions issued by the health ministry, the document said. 

Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won a landslide victory in last year’s election, securing over 80% of seats across both houses of parliament.

But the military seized power on Monday shortly before the Lower House was set to convene, and in doing so enshrine the result of the November 8 poll. 

As well as Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, soldiers detained chief ministers and ministers and confined newly elected MPs to their living quarters in Naypyitaw.

The military appointed Myint Swe, a former general who had been serving as a vice president, as acting President. Myint Swe then declared a one-year state of emergency and transferred power to the commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing.

The military announced in a broadcast on Myawaddy TV that new general elections would be held and power would be returned to the winning party. 

The military also claimed it had found over 10 million irregularities on voting lists across the country that could indicate widespread electoral fraud. Local election observers said last week the result of the election was credible and reflected the will of the people. 

A new 11-member State Administrative Council, chaired by Min Aung Hlaing, was formed on Tuesday.

Eight of the council’s members are from the army. Phado Man Nyein Maung, a former leading figure at the Karen National Union, is also on the council, as are two former NLD figures – Thein Nyunt and Khin Maung Swe – who co-founded the National Democratic Party.
 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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