YANGON, Myanmar — Tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Myanmar’s largest city Sunday for the second day in a row, in defiance of the military’s overthrow of the democratically elected government, and demanded the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The largely peaceful protests, which happened despite a weekend shutdown of the Internet that lasted until late Sunday afternoon, were the biggest displays of resistance against the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, since the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests. Those demonstrations, like every other popular uprising in Myanmar’s recent history, were brutally crushed — raising questions about what will follow now and how the military government will respond. Many in the international community, including Pope Francis on Sunday, have expressed support for the protesters.
Myanmar’s military seized power from the democratically elected civilian government, led by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, in a predawn raid a week ago. The military and its proxy political party had complained for months of widespread fraud in the November elections, with little evidence, in an apparent effort to discredit the NLD’s landslide win and claim power for themselves.
Since the coup, a steady drumbeat of resistance has been building in the country, where Suu Kyi is singularly beloved, with a civil disobedience movement that swelled over the weekend into street protests. Suu Kyi remains in detention, as does Win Myint, Myanmar’s president.
The government is controlled by Min Aung Hlaing, commander in chief of the military, who has replaced the cabinet with former generals.
The military “thinks they can break the law and do whatever they like,” said Thu, a 23-year-old student who spoke on the condition that only part of her name be used, out of fear of repercussions. “We won’t accept it. Our leader is our hope,” she said, referring to Suu Kyi.
Protesters flowed in from townships on Yangon’s fringes and all over the city, converging on the area around Sule Pagoda, a sparkling, golden stupa at the city’s center.
They held up three fingers, a gesture of resistance popularized by the Hunger Games trilogy and later used by anti-junta protesters in Thailand. Residents who were not already at the demonstrations emerged from their homes in support of the protesters, while drivers honked their horns in support and cheered them on.
Police, armed with water cannons, largely stood by, watching, barricading landmarks in Yangon such as the city hall and stopping protesters from marching toward the U.S. Embassy. Protesters offered water, snacks, flowers and cigarettes to the officers, chanting that they should be for the citizens and stand on their side.
There were also protests in other cities. In Pathein, in the country’s Delta region about 120 miles west of Yangon, people began to gather about 8 a.m. Some 400 people, many riding motorbikes and holding up three fingers, choked the streets in a show of defiance.
“Some people who experienced the ’88 revolution don’t dare go out,” said the owner of a rice shop, referring to the 1988 uprising in which millions of people took to the streets before the military opened fire, killing hundreds. “But young people are not afraid of the military.”
“They blocked the Internet, whatever, we will keep going,” said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of repercussions.
When the first signs of resistance and civil disobedience campaigns emerged on Facebook, one of the main social media platforms in Myanmar, authorities moved to block access. They later expanded the digital blockade to sites such as Twitter and Instagram. Then, on Saturday, all mobile Internet connectivity was disrupted. NetBlocks, a website that tracks real-time Internet disruptions, said Sunday that connectivity was just 14 percent of ordinary levels.
By late afternoon Sunday, Telenor, one of Myanmar’s telecommunications operators, announced that it had restored the network, following instructions from authorities.
International pressure, meanwhile, is growing. Thomas Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar, said more than 160 people have been arrested since the coup. They include representatives of the elected government and prominent activists. He urged the Human Rights Council to hold a special session on the crisis.
“The military must accept public acts of opposition for what they are — a peaceful demand for justice and democracy,” he said. “We must all stand with the people of Myanmar in their hour of danger and need.”
