YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar, adept at finding themes to unite protests across the country, took to the streets holding painted eggs in honor of the Easter holiday on Sunday.
In the largest city in Yangon, a group marched through the district of Insein chanting protest songs and packing eggs with the slogan “Spring Revolution”. Many of the eggs also had a three-fingered salute design, a symbol of resistance to the February 1st coup.
At dawn in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, protesters gathered on motorcycles to shout protests against the seizure of power that toppled the democratically elected government.
Myanmar’s military violently cracked down on protesters and others in the opposition, with the latest number of civilians killed since the coup in 557, according to the independent Association of Assistance for Political Prisoners. More than 2,750 people have been arrested or convicted, the group said.
On Sunday, security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters in Pyinmana, in central Myanmar, killing at least one person, local news agency Khit Thit Media reported.
Pope Francis, in his speech on Easter Sunday at St. Peter’s Basilica, prayed for “young people from Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully, knowing that hatred can only be dispelled by love”.
Sunday’s “Easter Egg Strike” follows other thematic days. They included a “Flower Strike”, in which protesters placed flowers in public places to honor the dead by security forces, and a “Silent Strike”, in which people across the country left the streets deserted.
Dr. Sasa, Myanmar’s special envoy to the UN who goes by a name, posted an image of painted eggs on Twitter and wrote that the people of Myanmar have a “great future in federal democracy”, reflecting the hope that the military will resign and reintegrate a democratic system.
Security forces continued to spread fear among ordinary citizens. During the night, a resident of Yangon recorded a video of a group of soldiers and police using a slingshot to throw stones at the windows of the houses, breaking the silence of the night. On other occasions, soldiers and police maintain nightly intimidation with raids on neighborhoods, during which they shout abuse, shoot at random, make arrests and vandalize property.
On Saturday, police opened fire, killing several protesters in Monywa, central Myanmar and elsewhere.
With most Internet access cut off or severely restricted by the junta, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people in Myanmar to get images of their situation to the outside world.
After weeks of internet outages overnight, the military on Friday closed all links except those using fiber-optic cable, which was working at dramatically reduced speeds. Access to mobile and all wireless networks – the least expensive options used by most people in developing countries – remained blocked on Sunday.