YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Protesters in Myanmar’s largest city came out Monday night for their first massive protests in spite of an 8pm curfew, to show their support for an estimated 200 students detained by security forces in a small area of a neighborhood.
The students and other civilians previously took part in one of many daily protests across the country against the military’s seizure of power last month, which ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.
The military government also put a significant drag on media coverage of the crisis. It announced that the licenses of five local media outlets – Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News – have been canceled.
“These media companies are no longer allowed to broadcast, write or provide information using any media platform or media technology,” said state broadcaster MRTV.
All five had covered the protests extensively, often with steaming live video online. Myanmar Now offices were raided by authorities on Monday before the measure was announced. The government has detained dozens of journalists since the coup, including a reporter from Myanmar Now and Thein Zaw from The Associated Press, both of whom have been charged under public policy law that imposed imprisonment for up to three years.
The night’s street protests began after police cordoned off part of Yangon’s Sanchaung neighborhood and allegedly conducted door-to-door investigations into those fleeing by security forces to seek shelter in the homes of sympathetic strangers.
News of their plight spread quickly on social media and people crowded into the streets in neighborhoods all over the city to show solidarity and hoping to take some of the pressure off the hunted protesters. In some streets they built improvised barricades with everything that was available.
In the Insein district, they spread across intersections, sang songs, recited pro-democracy slogans, and hit each other on objects.
The diplomatic missions of the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Union have all issued statements urging the security forces to allow the trapped people to return safely to their homes. While they have all been harshly critical of the February 1 coup and police brutality, it is unusual for such diplomatic statements to be made in connection with a specific, ongoing incident.
“There has been heightened tension from security forces around Kyun Taw Road in Sanchaung Township, Yangon. We are calling on those security forces to withdraw and let people go home safely, ”the US embassy’s statement said.
By midnight in Myanmar, there were no reports of clashes between police and protesters, although security forces chased crowds, harassed residents who watched from the window and fired stun shells. There were also some reports of injuries from rubber bullets.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following developments in the Sanchaung district, where “many of the imprisoned are women who marched peacefully in commemoration of International Women’s Day,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
“He calls for maximum restraint and insists on the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” Dujarric said, and respect for the right to freedom of assembly and expression for peaceful protesters who “express their hopes and desires for the future of their country., ‘said Dujarric.
Guterres called the occupation of a number of public hospitals in Myanmar by security forces “completely unacceptable,” the UN spokesman said.
Nighttime hours have become increasingly dangerous in Myanmar. Police and military units routinely walk through neighborhoods, firing randomly to intimidate residents and disturb their sleep, and make targeted arrests.
Security forces shot two people dead in northern Myanmar during the day, local media reported.
Online newspaper Irrawaddy said the victims were shot in the head during protests against the coup in Myitkyina, Kachin state. Graphic video on social media showed protesters pulling back from tear gas, reacting with stones, and then fleeing from what appeared to be automatic gunfire.
Protesters hastily carried away the injured, including an apparently fatality, a person with a serious head wound. A second body was later seen on a stretcher, its head covered with a cloth.
Another shooting took place in Pyapon, a town about 75 miles south of Yangon.
To date, more than 50 protesters have been killed as a result of the government’s violent crackdown. At least 18 people were shot dead on Wednesday, February 28 and 38, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Security forces also packed anti-coup protesters elsewhere on Monday by firing tear gas to disperse a crowd of about 1,000 demonstrating in Pyinmana, a satellite city of the capital, Naypyitaw. The protesters used fire extinguishers to create a smokescreen as they fled from authorities.
Thousands of protesters marching in Mandalay, the second largest city, spread on their own, fearing that soldiers and police intended to end their demonstration by force.
Meanwhile, an armed force from one of Myanmar’s ethnic groups was deployed to protect anti-coup marchers in the wake of a brutal crackdown by the junta.
The Karen National Police Force unit arrived shortly after sunrise to accompany about 2,000 protesters near Myitta in the Tanintharyi region of southeastern Myanmar. They carried an assortment of firearms, including assault rifles, as they marched in front of the column on dusty country roads.
The Karen Police are under the control of the Karen National Union, one of many ethnic organizations that have been fighting for more autonomy from the central government for decades. The KNU uses both political and, through its armed wing, military means to achieve its goals.
Since the Myanmar military came to power, there have been widespread daily protests in many towns and villages, and security forces have responded with increasing use of deadly force and mass arrests.
On Sunday, police occupied hospitals and universities and reportedly arrested hundreds of people protesting the military takeover.