Myanmar Diary: Woman protestor shot in the head, dies; military crackdown continues  

Why did the military wait till February 1 to stage the coup? By all accounts the junta was negotiating with Aung San Suu Kyi and her ruling party NDP, which swept the polls in November. The military wanted a repoll and the Parliament, which was to assemble on February 1, to be deferred. But there are others who suggest that Myanmar’s ‘numerology-obsessed generals’ may just have settled for an auspicious day. The digits – 0300 hours on 02/01/21 – add up to nine, they point out, a number which is traditionally considered auspicious
in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, 75, and Min Aung Hlaing, a 64-year-old career army officer who was set to take compulsory retirement in July, had a testy relationship and had not been on speaking terms for months, it is said. Instead, representatives of each sat down in Naypyitaw. Suu Kyi was represented by Kyaw Tint Swe, her right-hand man and formerly a stout defender of the military. Talks were also held in Yangon, where Suu Kyi’s representative was her long-time friend and personal doctor Tin Myo Win.

The army representatives apparently made three demands. Reschedule the opening of Parliament, disband the election commission and re-examine the vote under military supervision. Amidst growing rumours of a coup, the military denied such reports and rumours between January 29 and January 31. But as February 1 dawned, the military moved in and detained Suu Kyi and other elected MPs.

The first seventeen days of February saw massive protests across Myanmar with slogan shouting people spilling into streets with flags, banners and posters. Portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi, which can be found in most homes, were held aloft by protestors as they chanted anti-military slogans. Buddhist monks and government employees joined the protests. Railway services and medical services were also affected as demonstrations swept the country.

People placed posters of Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, on the street and people gleefully stepped on them while walking. Motorists drove over them. In many towns hot air balloons were released with messages saying, “Please do respect our votes and return our chosen leaders back”. Attempts by the police to stop the protests failed. Policemen would often ask, who is the leader? The question would be repeated over loudspeakers and the protesters would respond by saying, “We are all leaders.”

People rushed to the military-owned Myawaddy Bank in Yangon to withdraw cash after anti-coup protesters called for a boycott of military-related businesses. The previous day military-owned banks in Yangon opened for half a day and a bank employee at a Yangon branch of Myawaddy Bank on WarTan Street informed customers that the bank would service 200 customers a day and that withdrawals were limited to five million kyats (about USD 3,550) per person. Others could return to queue at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. Over the weekend, there were calls on social media urging private banks to join the civil disobedience and suspend their operations amidst rumours that people would withdraw all their money from any bank that remained open.

A social media campaign called for a boycott of Chinese goods. There is widespread suspicion that China is backing the military rulers. Protestors —including people of Chinese origin—have been protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon with posters and placards saying they are ashamed. While the Chinese ambassador in interviews denied reports that China knew about the coup in advance, there are few takers for such explanations.

Policemen and soldiers were praised and mocked by turn. While many protestors across Myanmar pleaded with policemen to join them, saying that police should be with people and not dictators, the soldiers were taunted by people. In one of the videos, a lady is heard telling troops that she was unarmed and was a grandmother but she was not afraid. Protestors stuck pro-democracy posters on tanks and when an armoured vehicle broke down, they asked if they should call for a mechanic or push the military vehicle to the scrapyard. Many protestors parked their cars on the roads, opened the bonnet and claimed the cars had broken down — in a bid to stall or slow down movement of police and military vehicles.

One of the popular Buddhist chants raised by protestors is the ‘Metta Sutta’, which says.

*Let everyone be free from harm

*Let everyone be free from anger

*Let everyone be free from hardship