Protests against the military, which took over the government and arrested several senior figures of the NLD on February 1, began with people calling for a civil disobedience and banging pots and pans at 8pm every night, a traditional act in Myanmar that is believed to drive away evil spirits. I saw the police with trucks but they are not doing anything,” a participant from a protest in Kalay said. All the people from the nearest villages came to join in the general protest.

National League for Democracy Vice Chair U Zaw Myint Maung, who was said to have been released from detention in Yangon, was reportedly re-arrested in Mandalay, according to people in the NLD.īesides, Yangon and Mandalay, protests took place in other population centres across the country, including Kalay and Monywa in Sagaing Region, Pyay in Bago, and Myingyan, and Mogok in Mandalay Region. The protestors raised their hand in a three-fingered salute that has become synonymous with the protests since the military takeover. The march started with a small group, estimated to be around 100 people, but eventually drew thousands in cars and on motorcycles. The protesters took to calling the street Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Road as it was the centre of protests in the city. The first protest in Mandalay began on Saturday on 38 Street. Meanwhile, in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, protesters also took to the streets to show support for the ousted government. Reporters at the scene say people even offered food and water to police on duty during the march. There were no reports of fights or untoward incidents on either day. We had to come out because protesting online is not enough,” said Ko Aung Kyaw Oo, the head of one of the workers’ unions that participated in the march.Īround 100 police were deployed to monitor the protest. “We took to the streets because we do not want authoritarian rule. It is estimated more than 3000 people took part.

Myanmar protests