Buddhist monks, priests, nuns and even a couple in wedding attire they were among the thousands of protesters who flooded the streets of Myanmar on Tuesday to protest last week’s military coup that ended the country’s unstable experience with democracy.
The crowds gathered for the fourth day in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay, Pathein and Naypyidaw, the capital, holding placards with photos of detained civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi and slogans like “We want justice”.
Police fired water cannons and reportedly used rubber bullets against protesters, according to Reuters.
“Numerous protesters have been injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the current protests,” the United Nations in Myanmar said in a statement on Tuesday, citing “reports from Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities.”
Protesters who appeared to be Roman Catholic priests and nuns were seen in Pathein, 160 kilometers southwest of Yangon, holding signs: “We need democracy: Free our leaders” and “Respect our votes”.
The February 1 military coup that put democratic leader Suu Kyi under arrest and imposed internet blackouts across the country found a resistance movement never seen in Myanmar since before the country’s transition to democracy in 2011.
“Three fingers are a tiger’s nail that will break the dictator’s throat,” wrote young activist Maung Saungkha in a poem published on his Facebook account on Monday. It was a reference to the three-finger salute seen in protests in Myanmar’s streets, schools and even hospital balconies that was popularized in anti-authoritarian protests in Thailand in 2014 and probably has its roots in the dystopian young adult franchise “The Hunger Games”.
Police fired into the air in Naypyidaw when protesters initially refused to move, a witness told Reuters.
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Protesters in Naypyidaw and Yangon were sprayed with water cannons and responded by throwing what appeared to be police plastic bottles with shock equipment, a video showed. People could be seen wearing raincoats while standing in a line facing security forces in a video posted on social media from Yangon.
“Security forces have a moral and legal obligation to challenge any illegal orders to use excessive force against peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar,” the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews wrote on Twitter.
“Everyone in the chain of command can be held responsible for committing crimes against humanity. ‘Following orders’ is not a defense, ”he added on Tuesday.
A curfew from 8 pm to 4 am, as well as a ban on gathering five or more people, was imposed across the country, according to American Citizen Services in Yangon.
The unrest heightened fears that Myanmar might return to the authoritarian military regime that ruled the country for half a century until 2011. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was released from house arrest and parliamentary democracy was partially restored.
Since then, Myanmar’s army has maintained overall control of the country’s government, despite two overwhelming victories by Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy. The country’s democratic transition was abruptly interrupted on February 1, when the National League for Democracy was preparing to take office for a second term.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Sara Mhaidli and Xin Chen contributed.