Iran press/ Asia: Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar’s major cities, chanting slogans against the military junta and demanding the release of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained politicians, as a two-day internet blackout was lifted.
In Yangon, the biggest city in the country of 54 million people, tens of thousands of protestors marched on city hall and thronged around Sule Pagoda, the center of 2007 monk-lead protests and other pro-democracy movements against five decades of direct military rule.
Monday’s action followed a protest Sunday involving tens of thousands of people demonstrating to demand the release of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top figures from her National League for Democracy party.
Showing little fear, protest crowds have grown bigger and bolder in recent days, while remaining nonviolent in support of a call by Suu Kyi’s party and its allies for civil disobedience.
The growing protests are a sharp reminder of the long and bloody struggle for democracy in a country that was military-ruled directly for more than five decades before loosening its grip in 2012. Suu Kyi’s government, which won a landslide election in 2015, was the first led by civilians in decades, though its power was limited by a military-drafted constitution.
Internet access was restored in most parts of the country by mid-day Sunday. In a move that rights groups warned would leave millions vulnerable to abuses and cut off from coronavirus information, authorities suspended telephone and internet service Saturday, following the suspension of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The military has accused Suu Kyi’s government of failing to act on its complaints that last November’s election was marred by fraud, though the election commission said it had found no evidence to support the claims.
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