YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Thousands of people gathered against the military takeover in the largest city in Myanmar on Sunday and demanded the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose elected government was overthrown by the army that also imposed an internet blackout.
The protesting crowds have grown bigger and bolder since Monday’s coup.
At least 2,000 union members and student activists and members of the public shouted “Long live Suu mother” and “Down with the military dictatorship” at a large intersection near Yangon University. They marched along a main road, heavy traffic. The drivers blew their horns in support.
Police with riot gear blocked the university’s main entrance. Two water cannon trucks were parked nearby.
Protesters held up signs calling for the freedom of Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who were placed under house arrest and charged with minor crimes, seen by many as a legal varnish for their detention.
On Saturday, new military officials cut off most Internet access, making Twitter and Instagram inaccessible. Facebook had already been blocked earlier in the week – though not quite effectively.
The United States Embassy asked the military to relinquish power and restore the democratically elected government, release detainees, lift all telecommunications restrictions and avoid violence.
“We support the right of the people of Myanmar to protest in support of the democratically elected government and their right to access information freely,” the statement said in a tweet.
The blockade on communications is a stark reminder of the progress Myanmar is in danger of losing after Monday’s coup brought the country back under direct military rule, after a movement of almost a decade towards greater openness and democracy. During Myanmar’s previous five decades of military rule, the country was isolated internationally and communication with the outside world was strictly controlled.
Suu Kyi’s five years as a leader since 2015 has been Myanmar’s most democratic period, despite the fact that the military maintains broad powers, the continued use of colonial-era repressive laws and the persecution of Rohingya Muslim minorities.
Sunday’s rally came a day after about 1,000 people – workers and students, among them, marched in Yangon. They were received by more than 100 riot police.
There was no report of violence. Similar-sized demonstrations took place in at least two other areas of Yangon, as well as in Mandalay, the second largest city. In Yangon Prefecture, protesters handed flowers to the police.
Nearly 300 lawmakers elected from the Suu Kyi National League for Democracy party should have taken their seats last Monday in a new session of Parliament after the November elections, when the military announced they would seize power for a year.
The military accused Suu Kyi and his party of failing to act on their complaints that lasted the election was marked by fraud, although the election commission said it had found no evidence to support the allegations.
Lawmakers met at an online meeting on Friday to declare themselves the only legitimate representatives of the people and called for international recognition as the country’s government.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has promised that the United Nations will do everything in its power to unite the international community and create conditions for the military coup in Myanmar to be reversed.