(Reuters) – Opponents of military rule in Myanmar turned the Easter egg into a symbol of resistance on Sunday, posting photos of eggs with slogans after a candlelit night watch across the country to commemorate the dead since the coup. February 1.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group that has been monitoring victims and arrests since the military overthrew Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, said the death toll has risen to 557.
“People across Burma continued to strike for the end of the dictatorship, for democracy and human rights,” the group said, using a different name for the Southeast Asian country.
Despite the murders, protesters come out every day, often in small groups in small towns, to reject the return of military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy. At night, people gather with candles.
The AAPP said 2,658 people were in detention, including four women and a man who spoke to a visiting CNN news crew on the streets of the capital, Yangon last week.
A CNN spokesperson said he was aware of reports of detentions after the team’s visit.
“We urge authorities to provide information on this and for the safe release of all detainees,” said the spokesman.
Police and a junta spokesperson did not answer calls asking for comment.
Opponents of military rule have also launched a campaign of civil disobedience strikes and they organize improvised and often creative shows of resistance, including Easter eggs on Sundays.
Posts like “We Must Win”, “Spring Revolution” and “Get out MAH” were painted on eggs in photos on social media, the latter a reference to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The military is running its own campaign to control the flow of information and get the message across.
It ordered ISPs to shut down wireless broadband from Friday, leaving most customers without access, although some messages and photos were still posted and shared.
Authorities have also issued arrest warrants for nearly 40 celebrities known for opposing military rule, including social media influencers, singers and models, under a law against inciting dissent in the armed forces.
The indictment, announced in major evening news bulletins aired Friday and Saturday by the state media, could carry a three-year jail term.
‘CONSCIENCE CLEAR’
One of the defendants, blogger Thurein Hlaing Win, told Reuters he was shocked to see that he was labeled a criminal on television and was in hiding.
‘I have not done anything bad or bad. I was on the side of the truth. I followed the path in which I believe. I chose the right between good and evil, ”he said over the phone from an unnamed location.
“When I am punished for that, 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 coup d’état in 1962, until it began withdrawing from civilian politics a decade ago, freed Suu Kyi from years of house arrest and allowed an election that left her party in 2015 wiped.
It says it had to oust Suu Kyi’s government because an election in November, again easily won by her party, was rigged. The election committee has rejected the allegation.
Many in Myanmar, especially younger people who have come of age in the past decade of social and economic opening up, cannot accept the return of rule by the generals.
Suu Kyi is in custody and is charged with 14 years in prison. Her lawyer says the charges are fabricated.
The coup has also sparked clashes with autonomy-oriented ethnic minority forces who have announced support for the pro-democracy movement.
The Karen National Union, which signed a ceasefire in 2012, has seen the first military air strikes on 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 villagers had fled their homes because of the air raids.
Fighting between the military and ethnic Kachin insurgents has also occurred in the north. Due to the unrest, thousands of refugees have fled to Thailand and India.
Suu Kyi’s party has vowed to establish a federal democracy, the main demand for minority groups.
Reporting by Reuters personnel; Written by Robert Birsel; Editing by William Mallard