Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters yesterday swarmed streets across the country in what might be the largest turnout since the Feb. 1 coup after two demonstrators were shot and killed over the weekend.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched throughout Yangon, while similar numbers were seen demonstrating in Mandalay, the location of the weekend’s shooting, after gathering there in the morning.
Earlier in the day, video footage posted by local media showed large demonstrations in the capital, Naypyidaw, and the southwestern city Pathein.
Photo: AP
The European Council condemned the military coup, calling for an immediate end to the state of emergency and “the restoration of the legitimate civilian government and the opening of the newly elected parliament.”
“The EU stands ready to adopt restrictive measures targeting those directly responsible for the military coup,” the bloc said in a statement.
About 50 protesters were arrested by police in Naypyidaw’s Pyinmana Township, Eleven Media Group reported.
Many shops and businesses closed in solidarity with protesters, including the nation’s largest retailer, City Mart.
Concerns have risen in the past few days about the banking system, as many private branches have remained closed and automated teller machines are running out of cash amid surging demand.
“We expect to see the biggest crowd of people across the country on Monday [yesterday]. We need to keep fighting against the brutal military,” said Aung Kyaw Kyaw Oo, a lower house lawmaker representing the National League for Democracy, which had won the election in November last year by a landslide before the military rejected the results.
Myanmar has seen nationwide demonstrations since the military seized control of the country, with protesters ignoring a ban on public gatherings.
A 20-year old student who was shot in Naypidaw was the first fatality last week. Two men were killed and more than 20 people injured on Saturday as authorities fired shots to disperse demonstrators in Mandalay.
Singapore on Saturday called the use of lethal force against unarmed civilians “inexcusable,” while Germany condemned the violence and said that the military should pave the way for a return to the democratic process.
The UN’s country team in Myanmar expressed “profound concern” over the violence, saying in a statement it “must stop and the fundamental right to peaceful assembly must be respected.”
The Burmese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday said authorities were “exercising utmost restraint through minimum use of force.”
‘UNFRIENDLY’: COA Minister Chen Chi-chung said that Beijing probably imposed the sanction because the pineapple production season is about to start in Taiwan More than 99 percent of pineapples sold to China passed inspections, the government said yesterday, after China earlier in the day abruptly suspended imports of pineapples from the nation, which Taipei called an “unfriendly” move. From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Since last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. Were the organisms to spread in China, they would
SOLVED: Domestic orders have already overtaken the total sold to China last year, while the Canadian and US representative offices posted messages of support A joint effort by groups and individuals in Taiwan and abroad to prop up sales of pineapples after China announced a ban on imports of the fruit succeeded in just four days, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. China on Friday announced that it would suspend imports of Taiwanese pineapples starting on Monday, citing biosafety concerns. Following the announcement, the council urged the public to assist farmers by purchasing pineapples, saying it hoped to sell 20,000 tonnes of the fruit domestically and 30,000 tonnes in exports. “Domestic orders have already surpassed the total sold to China last year,” COA Minister
Taiwanese netizens and politicians yesterday mocked a Chinese plan to build a transportation network linking Beijing and Taipei, calling it “science fiction” and “daydreaming.” Their comments were in reaction to the Chinese State Council’s release last week of its “Guidelines on the National Comprehensive Transportation Network Plan,” which include several proposed transportation links, with one map showing a line running from China’s Jingjinji Metropolitan Region (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) across the Taiwan Strait to Taipei. “This is the Chinese leadership daydreaming again of [fulfilling its] fantasy of extending China’s transportation network to Taiwan. I suggest people regard it as science fiction,” Democratic Progressive
‘ONE PERSON PER UNIT’: People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they have special approval Starting tomorrow, people under home isolation would be required to follow the “one person per housing unit” rule if in private housing, or stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the rules require people under home quarantine to be quarantined with one person per housing unit, or at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility. “Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. “We
RSS