Myanmar Coup: Pressure Mounts After Three Weeks Of Protest

Yangon, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2021 ) :Myanmar's military seized power on February 1, arresting the country's democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

As protests continue despite a clampdown by the junta, here is a recap of events: - Back to the old days - The generals stage a coup on February 1, detaining Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi and her top political allies in pre-dawn raids.

It ends Myanmar's decade-long experiment with democracy after close to half a century of military rule.

The generals claim fraud in November's elections, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.

The putsch draws global condemnation, from Pope Francis to US President Joe Biden.

- Walkie-talkies - Two days after the coup, authorities bring an obscure charge against the 75-year-old Suu Kyi -- over unregistered walkie-talkies at her home, an offence under import and export law.

- Internet blocked - Resistance to the coup begins with people banging pots and pans -- a practice traditionally associated with driving out evil spirits.

The junta tries to block social media platforms including Facebook, which is hugely popular in Myanmar. Later, nightly internet blackouts are imposed.

Suu Kyi, not seen in public since the coup, is under house arrest and "in good health", her party says.

- Bold defiance - Popular dissent surges over the weekend of February 6 and 7, with tens of thousands of people gathering on the streets calling for the release of Suu Kyi.

Defiance spreads with a third straight day of protests on February 8 and a nationwide strike as hundreds of thousands of people join anti-coup rallies across Myanmar.

- Curfews declared - The military warns of a crackdown and imposes night-time curfews including in Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw -- the country's three biggest cities.

But despite bans on gatherings of more than five people, the protests continue.

- Police fire on protesters - A young woman is shot in the head and another person is wounded after police fire on crowds in Naypyidaw on February 9.

Despite the violence and a raid on the NLD's headquarters in Yangon, tens of thousands of people take to the streets of the city for a fifth successive day.

UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews warns that the junta "can't steal the hope and resolve of a determined people".

- US sanctions - The same day Washington announces sanctions against several military officials, including General Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief now in charge.

The United Nations demands the immediate release of Suu Kyi two days later and deems the use of violence against protesters "unacceptable".

- Escalation - Min Aung Hlaing suspends laws requiring warrants for searches on February 13 as the junta warns the public not to hide protesters.

The next night security forces fire on protesters and arrest journalists in the country's north. The journalists are released the next day.

- New Suu Kyi charge - On February 16 Suu Kyi's lawyer says she has been hit with a second charge, this time under the natural disaster management law.

The next day thousands rally in Yangon vowing to "fight till the end", despite the build-up of troops.

Britain sanctions three Myanmar generals on February 18 for post-coup rights violations, as Canada takes similar measures.

- Four protesters die - On Friday the protester shot 10 days earlier dies, becoming a symbol of opposition to the junta.

Over the weekend two more demonstrators are killed and around 30 are injured as police fire on a protest in Mandalay.

In Yangon a man on neighbourhood patrol against night arrests is shot dead.

- Junta threatens lethal force - The junta warns late Sunday that it is prepared to use lethal force, and the foreign ministry rails against "flagrant interference" by foreign governments.

Despite the threats, hundreds of thousands of protesters rally again on Monday.

- International backlash - UN chief Antonio Guterres rebukes the junta's "brutal force", with the European Union later agreeing to sanction the military. The G7 group of the world's wealthiest nations add their condemnation the following day.

Diplomats from regional powers Thailand and Indonesia meet the junta's foreign minister Wednesday to try to broker an end to the unrest.

- Facebook bans military -The social media giant and its subsidiary Instagram turn the screw on the junta Thursday by banning all accounts linked to the military.

The ban comes as junta supporters wielding knives and slingshots clash with residents in Yangon banging pots and pans.