Yangon, Feb 11: Members of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities marched through streets in traditional dress and floated on wooden long boats in a scenic lake Thursday to protest last week’s coup, a sign of the broad and growing resistance to the military takeover.
Opposition to the coup received a major boost from abroad from US President Joe Biden, who ordered new sanctions and promised more measures to come as he demanded the junta hand power back to the elected government.
That’s part of a growing trend, as more governments consider sanctions against the military.
The military seized power on Feb. 1, ousting leader Aung San Suu Kyi and preventing recently elected lawmakers from opening a new session of Parliament — a shocking reversal after about a decade of progress towards democracy in Myanmar.
The junta said it was forced to step in because Suu Kyi’s government failed to properly investigate allegations of fraud in recent elections, though the election commission has said there is no evidence to support those claims.
In response to the coup, tens of thousands of protesters have marched daily in Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s biggest cities — and the demonstrations have spread throughout the country, showing depth of the resistance.
The rallies have drawn people from all walks of life, despite an official ban on gatherings of more than five people. Factory workers and civil servants, students and teachers, medical personnel and people from LGBTQ communities, Buddhist monks and Catholic clergy have all come out in force.
On Thursday, people from Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups, who are concentrated in far-flung, border states, joined in — a striking show of unity in a country where some groups have resented the Burman majority’s control and have also had their differences with Suu Kyi.
But their deep mistrust of the military, which has brutally repressed their armed struggles for more autonomy, has made them uneasy allies with her party.
“Our people have been oppressed by the junta for many years. They have cracked down brutally. How long are they going to keep doing this?” asked protester Naw Ohn Hla, a human rights activist from the Karen ethnic group. “But the people understand the situation, and most of them are joining now.”
There have also been reports of police officers who belong to the Kayah ethnic group risking their jobs to protest the takeover. (AP)
