Candle-lit vigils held to honour those killed after Feb 1 coup; death toll close to 600
YANGON • Opponents of military rule in Myanmar inscribed messages of protest on Easter eggs yesterday while others were back on the streets, facing off with the security forces after a night of candle-lit vigils for hundreds killed since a Feb 1 coup.
In the latest impromptu show of defiance, messages including "We must win" and "Get out MAH" - referring to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing - were seen on eggs in photographs on social media.
"Easter is all about the future and the people of Myanmar have a great future in a federal democracy," Dr Sasa, international envoy for the ousted civilian government, said.
Opponents of military rule have mounted a civil disobedience campaign since the ouster of the elected government of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The campaign has included creative shows of defiance promoted on social media.
Young people in the main city of Yangon handed out eggs bearing the messages of protest.
Crowds have returned to the streets to reject the return of military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the death toll had risen to 557, as at late Saturday.
In the capital Naypyitaw, two men were killed when police fired on protesters on motorbikes, the Irrawaddy news site reported.
Several thousand people turned out in Mandalay, some on foot, others on motorbikes, to show their opposition, before police and soldiers moved in to disperse them.
Protesters also gathered in other towns across the country.
The AAPP said 2,658 people were in detention, including four women and a man who spoke to a visiting CNN news crew in Yangon last week.
The military has ordered Internet service providers to cut wireless broadband, depriving most customers of access.
The authorities have issued arrest warrants for nearly 40 celebrities known for opposing military rule. The charges carry a prison term of three years.
One of those charged, blogger Thurein Hlaing Win, said he was shocked to see himself branded a criminal, and had gone into hiding.
"I didn't do anything bad or evil. I stood on the side of truth," he added. "If I get punished for that, my conscience is clear. My beliefs will not change."
The military ruled the former British colony with an iron fist after seizing power in a 1962 coup until it began withdrawing from civilian politics a decade ago, releasing Ms Suu Kyi from years of house arrest and allowing an election in which her party swept to victory in 2015.
It says it had to oust her government because a November election, again won easily by her party, was rigged. The election commission has dismissed the assertion.
But many in Myanmar, particularly younger people who have come of age in the past decade of opening up, cannot accept the return of rule by the generals.
Ms Suu Kyi is in detention, facing charges that could bring 14 years in prison. Her lawyer says the charges are trumped up.
The coup has also triggered clashes with autonomy-seeking ethnic minority forces that 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 from a government offensive.
Fighting has also flared between the army and ethnic Kachin insurgents. The turmoil has sent several thousand refugees fleeing into Thailand and India.
REUTERS
