YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s new military rulers on Monday signaled their intention to crack down on opponents of its takeover by issuing decrees that effectively banned peaceful public protests in the country’s two largest cities.
Restrictive measures were ordered after police fired water cannons at hundreds of protesters in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, who demanded the return of military power to elected officials. It was just one of many demonstrations across the country.
Rallies and meetings of more than five people, along with motorized processions, were banned, and a curfew from 8 pm to 4 am was imposed in the areas of Yangon and Mandalay, the first and second largest cities in the country, where thousands of people have already have been demonstrating since Saturday.
Protesters in Yangon met on Monday at a large intersection in the center of the city, raising three-finger salutes that are symbols of resistance and carrying signs saying: “Reject the military coup” and “Justice for Myanmar”.
Demonstrations have also taken place in cities in the north, southeast and east of the country.
The decrees that allowed the new restrictive measures were issued from municipality to municipality, and were expected to be extended to other areas as well. They say they were issued in response to people carrying out illegal actions that violate the rule of law, a reference to the protests.
The rising tide of challenge – particularly in Naypyitaw, where such protests are unusual – has been impressive in a country where demonstrations have been met with severe force in the past. This resistance was taking place in Naypyitaw, whose population includes many civil servants and their families, demonstrating the level of anger among people who have only begun to taste democracy in recent years, after five decades of military rule.
“We don’t want the military junta,” said Daw Moe, a protester in Yangon. “We never wanted this joint. Nobody wants it. All people are ready to fight them. “
The coup came on the day that newly elected lawmakers were to take their seats in Parliament after the November elections. The generals said the vote was tainted by fraud – although the country’s electoral commission rejected the claim.
State media for the first time on Monday made reference to the protests, saying they were putting the country’s stability at risk.
“Democracy can be destroyed if there is no discipline,” said a statement from the Ministry of Information, read on the state television station MRTV. “We will have to take legal measures to prevent acts that violate state stability, public security and the rule of law.”
However, the military commander who led the coup and is now the leader of Myanmar made no mention of the disturbances in a 20-minute speech on television on Monday night, the first to the public since the seizure of power.
Instead, General Min Aung Hlaing repeated the allegations of electoral fraud that were the justification for the seizure of power by the military, allegations that were refuted by the state electoral commission. He added that his board will hold new elections as promised in a year and will hand over power to the winners, and explained the board’s intended policies for controlling COVID-19 and the economy.
The growing protests are reminiscent of earlier movements in the Southeast Asian country’s long and bloody struggle for democracy. On Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, which was a focal point for demonstrations against the military regime during a massive uprising in 1988 and again during a 2007 uprising led by Buddhist monks. The military used deadly force to end both revolts. In addition to some officers, the soldiers were not on the streets in protests last week.
Photos of the standoff in Naypyitaw on Monday showed a vast crowd of protesters surrounded on various sides by large numbers of police and police vehicles. Police officers aimed a water cannon at the crowd, which was gathered near a giant statue of Aung San, who led the country’s struggle for independence from Britain in the 1940s and is the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader who was deposed for taking control.
Suu Kyi – who became an international symbol of the country’s struggle for freedom while being held at his home for 15 years and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts – is now back under house arrest.
The Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners, an independent watchdog group, said 165 people, most of them politicians, had been detained since the February 1 coup, with only 13 released.
A foreigner was confirmed as being detained by authorities, Sean Turnell, an economist at Macquarie University in Australia who was an adviser to the Suu Kyi government. He was arrested on Saturday in unclear circumstances.
A statement released Monday by Australian Chancellor Marise Payne’s office said he was receiving consular support and described him as “a highly regarded adviser, a member of the academic community”.
“We certainly believe that he should be released immediately,” he said.