| Thousands of people gather in downtown Yangon on the 17th to protest the rebels. © AFP=News1 |
Thousands of people are protesting in tension amid reports of Myanmar military forces moving to Yangon, the largest city.
According to the AFP news agency, UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews issued a statement on the 17th and said, “There are reports that soldiers are moving from remote areas to Yangon.”
Rapporteur Andrews was concerned that, in past cases, the movement of troops could lead to mass killings, disappearances and detention.
In the midst of this, Myanmar’s military has blocked Internet access across the country from 1 am. This is interpreted with the intention of hiding the movement of military forces that take place at night, adding to the fear of local residents. There are also suspicions that the internet was blocked to hide the arrests of rebel officials and the’night kidnapping’ of protesters.
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| On the 17th, protesters in Yangon, Myanmar, hold a picket urging the release of national advisor Aung San Suu Kyi. © AFP=News1 |
Thousands of demonstrators are already pouring into downtown Yangon amid fears of suppression of violence by the military.
A 21-year-old college student who started protesting on the day said in an AFP interview, “Today is a day to fight to the end. To end the military rule, we must show our unity and strength. People must come to the streets.”
The anger over the further prosecution of state adviser Aung San Suu Kyi for violating the National Disaster Act is also likely to spark the protests.
Kin Sandar, a rebel government activist, urged Facebook to “come together to bring out the dictator.”
Chito, a high-ranking official of the Democratic Peoples League (NLD), the party of the shame torture, exclaimed, “Let’s rise up,” and “show our strength against the coup government that destroyed the country’s future.”
According to the Myanmar Political Offender Support Association (AAPP), about 450 people have been arrested since the coup on the 1st. The protests against military rule have been on the 12th.
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