(Reuters) – Opponents of the military regime in Myanmar wrote protest messages on Easter eggs on Sunday, while others were back on the streets, facing security forces after a night of candlelight vigils for hundreds of people killed since the 1st February coup.
In the last of a series of improvised challenge shows, messages like “We must win” and “Saia MAH” – referring to the leader of the military junta Min Aung Hlaing – were seen in photos on social media.
“Easter is all about the future and the people of Myanmar have a great future in a federal democracy,” said Dr. Sasa, an international envoy from the deposed civilian government, in a statement. Sasa is a member of the Christian minority in a predominantly Buddhist country.
Opponents of the military regime have mounted a campaign of civil disobedience since the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel winner Aung San Suu Kyi, which included creative demonstrations of challenge promoted on social media.
Young people in the main city of Yangon distributed eggs with protest messages, showing images in posts.
Crowds returned to the streets day and night to reject the return of the military regime after a decade of attempts at democracy. Numerous candlelight vigils took place during the night.
The Association of Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), an activist group that monitors victims and arrests, said the death toll had risen to 557 at the end of Saturday.
Several thousand people came to the second city of Mandalay, some on foot, others on motorcycles, to show their opposition, according to images on social media, before the police and soldiers advanced to disperse them.
Protesters also met in several other cities in the north, center and south areas.
Police and a spokesman for the military junta did not take calls for comment.
AAPP said 2,658 people were in detention, including four women and a man who spoke to a CNN news team in interviews in the streets of Yangon’s main city last week.
A CNN spokesman said the network was aware of reports of arrests after the team’s visit. “We are pressing the authorities for information about this and for the safe release of all detainees,” he said.
The military, running its own campaign to crack down on dissent, ordered ISPs to cut wireless broadband, depriving most customers of access.
Authorities issued arrest warrants for about 40 celebrities known to oppose the military regime, including social media influencers, singers and models, under a law against inciting dissent in the armed forces.
The charges, announced on the evening news on state television on Friday and Saturday, could result in a three-year prison term.
‘CLEAR CONSCIOUSNESS’
One of the defendants, blogger Thurein Hlaing Win, told Reuters he was shocked to see himself labeled a criminal and went into hiding.
“I didn’t do anything bad or bad. I was on the side of the truth, ”he said by phone from an undisclosed location. “If I am punished for this, my conscience is clear. My beliefs will not change. Everyone knows the truth. “
The military ruled the former British colony with an iron fist after seizing power in a 1962 coup until it began to withdraw from civilian policy a decade ago, freeing Suu Kyi from years of house arrest and allowing an election that his party won in 2015.
He says he had to overthrow the Suu Kyi government because a November election, again easily won by his party, was rigged. The electoral commission rejected the claim.
But many in Myanmar, especially the younger ones, who grew up in the last decade of opening, cannot accept the government’s return by the generals.
Suu Kyi is being held and faces charges that could result in 14 years in prison. His lawyer says the charges are forged.
The coup also sparked clashes with ethnic minority forces seeking autonomy that announced support for the pro-democracy movement.
The Karen National Union, which signed a ceasefire in 2012, has seen the first military air strikes against its forces in more than 20 years and says it must fight to defend itself against a government offensive.
The group said more than 12,000 residents had fled their homes because of the air strikes.
Fighting also increased in the north between the army and ethnic Kachin insurgents. The turmoil caused several thousand refugees to flee to Thailand and India.
Suu Kyi’s party has promised to establish a federal democracy, the main claim of minority groups.
Reporting by the Reuters team; Written by Robert Birsel; Edition by William Mallard and Kenneth Maxwell