3 yıl önce

Troop movements, expected internet cutoff raise tensions in Myanmar

Meanwhile, security forces in northern Myanmar arrested five journalists after firing at protesters in the city of Myitkyina.

AFP

An armoured vehicle drives next to the Sule Pagoda, following days of mass protests against the military coup, in Yangon on February 14, 2021.

Sightings of armoured personnel carriers in Myanmar’s biggest city and leaked orders of an impending internet shutdown have raised political tensions, after vast numbers of people around the country flouted orders against demonstrations to protest the military’s seizure of power.

Public concern has already been heightened for the past few nights by what many charge is the military’s manipulation of criminals released from prison to carry out nighttime violence and instill panic.

There was no official word about why armoured personnel carriers traversed the streets of Yangon in broad daylight on Sunday, making their way through busy traffic.

As night fell, there were videos and other reports on social media of the movement of other military vehicles.

An order that appears to be from the Ministry of Transport and Communications told mobile phone service providers to shut down internet connections from 1 am to 9 am (1830 GMT-0230 GMT) on Monday. It circulated widely on social media, as did a notice said to be from service provider Oredoo Myanmar containing the same details.

Previous leaks of government orders to limit internet access have proven accurate, and the US Embassy issued a caution to American citizens about the military movements and possible internet shutdown.

"There are indications of military movements in Yangon and the possibility of telecommunications interruptions overnight between 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 am" on Monday morning local time, the US embassy tweeted on its official American Citizen Services account on Sunday night.

The authorities have previously sought with mixed success to block social networks, and also shut off access to the internet for about a day.

Security forces in northern Myanmar arrested five journalists after firing at protesters in the city of Myitkyina, according to local media.

"Five journalists covering the people protest in front of Buga electricity office in Myitkyina were arrested," said a Facebook post from The 74 Media, a media outlet based in the city.

A journalist at the scene told AFP that security forces used tear gas and then opened fire to disperse the crowd, but it was unclear whether they used rubber bullets or live rounds.

Journalists arrested

Security forces arrested five journalists after firing at protesters in the city of Myitkyina on Sunday, according to local media.

"Five journalists covering the people protest in front of Buga electricity office in Myitkyina were arrested," said a Facebook post from The 74 Media, a media outlet based in the city.

A journalist at the scene told AFP that security forces used tear gas and then opened fire to disperse the crowd, but it was unclear whether they used rubber bullets or live rounds.

Forces also fired to disperse protesters outside a power plant in the northern state of Kachin, footage broadcast live on Facebook showed.

Hundreds had gathered late Sunday outside a power plant that soldiers had occupied in the city of Myitkyina. As darkness fell, riot police accompanied by soldiers arrived to drive away the crowds, the footage showed.

The security forces doused the crowds with a water cannon and shots were heard.

“A few minutes ago the Tatmadaw reinforced with military tanks and now they started shooting,” said one resident who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, using the Burmese term for the armed forces.

READ MORE: Outrage grows over Myanmar coup

Mass protests continue

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar’s major cities for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations, after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freedoms.

Engineering students marched through downtown Yangon, the biggest city, wearing white and carrying placards demanding the release of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since Myanmar’s military overthrew her elected government on February 1.

Part of the biggest street protests in more than a decade, a fleet of highway buses rolled slowly through the city, honking their horns in protest.

A convoy on motorbikes and in cars drove through the capital Naypyitaw. In the southeastern coastal town of Dawei, a band played drums in shadows cast by awnings as crowds marched under the hot sun. In Waimaw, in the far northern Kachin state on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, crowds carried flags and sang revolutionary songs.

Many of the protesters nationwide held up images of Suu Kyi's face.

Her detention, on charges of importing walkie-talkies, is due to expire on Monday.

Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, could not be reached for comment on what was set to happen.

More than 384 people have been detained since the coup, the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said, in a wave of mostly nightly arrests.

"While the international community is condemning the coup, Min Aung Hlaing is using every tool he has to instigate fears and instabilities," activist Wai Hnin Pwint Thon from the UK-based rights group Burma Campaign UK said on Twitter, referring to the army chief.

'Stop kidnapping people'

Many protesters in Yangon carried signs calling to authorities to “stop kidnapping people at night”.

Residents banded together late on Saturday to patrol streets in Yangon and the country's second-largest city Mandalay, fearing arrest raids as well as common crime after the junta ordered the release of thousands of prisoners.

In different neighbourhoods, groups of mostly young men banged on pots and pans to sound the alarm as they chased down what they believed to be suspicious characters.

Worries about criminal activity have soared since Friday, when the junta announced it would free 23,000 prisoners, saying the move was consistent with “establishing a new democratic state with peace, development and discipline” and would “please the public”.

Unverified pictures on social media have fuelled rumours that criminals are trying to stir unrest by setting fires or poisoning water supplies.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies