called for the military Pro-democracy protests
Myeanmar, postbantennews.com
Called for the military Pro-democracy protests broke out in Myanmar’s largest city on Saturday, with thousands of people taking to the streets of Yangon in the first major organized demonstration since the military seized power in a coup earlier this week. From is CNNI
The crowd, many of whom could be seen waiving flags and holding banners, called for the military to release recently deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and other democratically-elected lawmakers, who were detained in pre-dawn raids Monday.
Chants of “We demand democracy” could be heard coming from the crowd as they marched close to downtown Yangon, prompting the government to impose an internet blackout. Dozens of police, some in riot gear, had initially attempted to block the protest route, forcing the crowd to change direction.
During the earlier large-scale march, passers-by could be seen giving the three-finger salute of opposition to army rule, in apparent solidarity with those demonstrating. Others were seen applauding and handing out water to both protesters and police in what one witness described as a way of defusing tension.
Witnesses described the crowd as expanding in size, before appearing to disperse after several hours. But a number of smaller, scattered protests remained ongoing including one at Yangon University, where several hundred mostly young people gathered and continued to chant. (hera/henri/pn)
