Myanmar Shuts Shop To Defy Junta On Coup Anniversary

Myanmar shuts shop to defy junta on coup anniversary

Streets emptied and shops shuttered across Myanmar on Tuesday as people defied junta orders to go about their business with a silent strike on the first anniversary of the military coup

Yangon, Feb 1 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Feb, 2022 ) :Streets emptied and shops shuttered across Myanmar on Tuesday as people defied junta orders to go about their business with a silent strike on the first anniversary of the military coup.

The junta that ended the Southeast Asian country's brief democratic interlude and toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has triggered mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.

Struggling to contain the backlash and contending with daily clashes, the military has killed more than 1,500 civilians, according to a local monitoring group. Swathes of the country are under the control of anti-coup fighters.

The junta had ordered shops to stay open Tuesday, following activist calls for a "silent strike" on the anniversary.

But the streets of commercial hub Yangon began emptying at 10 am, AFP correspondents said, a scene that repeated in second city Mandalay and southern Tanintharyi region.

Mandalay's famous jade market opened, but saw little traffic, a resident told AFP.

"No one is going out on the streets around my area and security forces are patrolling.

"I'm staying at home playing online games to participate in the silent strike." A similar strike in December emptied the streets of cities and towns across the country.

But on Tuesday morning, local media did show isolated flashmobs in Yangon and Mandalay, where protesters unfurled pro-democracy banners and set off flares.

Ahead of the anniversary, the junta had threatened to seize businesses that shutter and warned that noisy rallies or sharing anti-military "propaganda" could lead to treason or terrorism charges.

In comments published Tuesday, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing repeated the military's claim that it had been forced to take power following election fraud by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 2020 elections that international observers said were largely free and fair.

Fresh polls will be called once stability is restored, Min Aung Hlaing told the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.