Of: TT
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Photo: AP / TT
Protesters in Rangoon on Monday.
Protesters have declared a general strike in Myanmar, despite the military government’s threat that participants could die.
The country’s military government warned protesters against encouraging “riots and anarchy”, in a statement via state television MRTV.
“Encourages the people”
“Protesters are now encouraging the people, especially vulnerable teenagers and young people, to a confrontation path where they will lose their lives.”
Despite the threat, thousands of protesters took to the streets again on Monday, including in Myanmar’s largest city, Rangoon (Yangon).
– We are worried about the attacks, but we will continue. We are so angry, says 23-year-old university student Kyaw Kyaw, one of those demonstrating.
The unrest picked up speed after the military coup on 1 February. The military also placed the country’s popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
Since then, large-scale demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, have taken place around the country.
Hundreds arrested
Many hundreds have been arrested, among them government employees who have joined a disobedience campaign. Two people were killed and several others injured when police fired sharp shots at the second largest city in Mandalay this weekend.
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on the ruling generals, and the United States on Sunday issued new warnings against the country.
“The United States will continue to take strong action against those who use violence against the people of Burma who demand the re-establishment of the democratically elected government,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter.
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