New protests in Burma this Saturday, after the military coup of February 1 and the arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In Yangon, the country’s first city, members of the country’s various ethnic communities marched together to show their solidarity in a protest that does not weaken.
“We have to win this fight, Ke Jung, a member of the Naga minority present at the protest, told Reuters. We are united with the people. We will fight until the end of the dictatorship. “ Burma has known several insurgencies of ethnic minorities since its independence in 1948 and the army presents itself as the only institution capable of guaranteeing national unity.
Aung San Suu Kyi is part of the Burmese community, which is the majority in the country. Her government had encouraged the peace process with insurgent groups, but the leader had been criticized by the international community for her silence and inaction in the face of the army’s crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Strikes in many administrations
Also in Yangon, demonstrators laid a wreath to honor the memory of Mya Thwate Khaing, a young woman who succumbed to her injuries on Friday, several days after being hit in the head during the police dispersal of a demonstrator. in the capital, Naypyitaw.
In Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, Burmese police fired at anti-junta protesters on Saturday, injuring at least five.
At least five people were injured
, said an AFP journalist present at the scene, who could not specify whether the shots had been carried out with live ammunition or with rubber ammunition. Slingshots were also used by the police, according to footage from AFP.
The protest, which is accompanied by strikes in many administrations, shows no sign of running out of steam despite the junta’s promise to organize elections and its calls, coupled with threats, for civil servants to resume work.
The army claims to have the support of a majority of the population. She came to power after weeks of denouncing fraud in the November 8 legislative elections, won by an overwhelming majority by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (LND). The electoral commission rejected these accusations.
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