(Reuters) – Opponents of the military regime in Myanmar turned the Easter egg into a challenge symbol on Sunday, posting pictures of eggs with slogans after a night of candlelight vigils across the country to remember the dead since the coup February 1st.
The Association of Assistance for Political Prisoners, an activist group that has monitored casualties and arrests since the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel winner Aung San Suu Kyi, said the death toll had risen to 557.
“People across Burma have continued to fight for the end of the dictatorship, for democracy and for human rights,” said the group, using another name for the Southeast Asian country.
Despite the deaths, protesters are leaving every day, often in small groups in small towns, to reject the return of the military regime after a decade of attempts at democracy. At night, people gather with candles.
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 he 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,” said the spokesman.
Police and a spokesman for the military junta did not take calls for comment.
Opponents of the military regime have also mounted a campaign of civil disobedience of strikes and organize improvised and often creative defiance demonstrations, which on Sunday included Easter eggs.
Messages like “We must win”, “Spring Revolution” and “Get out MAH” were painted on images of eggs in photos on social media, the latter a reference to the leader of the military junta Min Aung Hlaing.
The military is waging its own campaign to control the flow of information and define the message.
He ordered ISPs to cut wireless broadband from Friday, depriving most customers of access, although some messages and photos were still being posted and shared.
Authorities also 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 charge, announced in the main evening news broadcast on state media on Friday and Saturday, could lead to three years in prison.
‘CLEAR CONSCIOUSNESS’
One of the defendants, blogger Thurein Hlaing Win, told Reuters he was shocked to see himself labeled a criminal on television and went into hiding.
“I didn’t do anything bad or bad. I was on the side of the truth. I followed the path in which I believe. Between good and evil, I chose good, ”he said by telephone, 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.
Many in Myanmar, especially the youngest who have come of age during the past decade of social and economic openness, cannot accept the return of the government 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; William Mallard edition