[News]Myanmar resumes internet access amid mounting protests

[SougarLord]

 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - An enthusiastic crowd of tens of thousands marched through the streets of Myanmar's

largest city in protest of last week's coup. The news that the internet connection had been restored, blocked the day before, was a boost for the attendees.

 

Several protests started in various parts of Yangon converged on the Sule Pagoda, in the center of a roundabout in the center of the city. The protesters chanted "Long live mother Suu" and "Down with the military dictatorship."

 

Authorities had cut off internet access when protests began to grow on Saturday, stoking fears of a total blackout. On Sunday afternoon, however, users in Yangon reported that internet access from their cellphones had suddenly been restored.

The protesters wanted to overturn the army-led seizure of power last Monday and demanded the release of the country's ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other prominent members of her party, the National League for Democracy.

 

The army has accused Suu Kyi and her party of failing to heed their complaints about widespread fraud in the elections last November, although the electoral commission said it had not found any evidence to support the accusations.

 

The mounting protests were a stark reminder of the long and bloody struggle for democracy in a country that in practice spent more than five decades under military rule, until it began to soften in 2012. Suu Kyi's government, which won hands down Overwhelming in the 2015 elections, it was the first civilian-run in decades, though it saw its power limited by a military-drafted constitution.

 

During Myanmar's years of isolation under military rule, Sule Pagoda was a regular site for pro-democracy political protests, especially during the huge 1988 uprising and the 2007 revolt led by Buddhist monks.

 

The Army crushed both uprisings by force, and it is estimated that in 1988 there were hundreds, if not thousands of deaths. Although riot police have been dispatched to monitor the protests in the past week, no soldiers have been deployed or reported clashes.

 

Showing little fear, the protests have grown in size and boldness since Monday's coup, and have maintained non-violent denunciation following calls from Suu Kyi's party and its allies for civil disobedience.

 

In one of the marches on Sunday, at least 2,000 trade unionists, student activists and others gathered at a major intersection near the University of Yangon. They marched along a main street, complicating traffic. Drivers honked their horns in support.

 

Riot police blocked the main entrance to the university and there were two trucks with water cannons parked in the area.

 

The protesters carried banners demanding the release of Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. Both are under house arrest and were charged with misdemeanors, which many consider a legal pretext for their arrest.

 

Reports on social media and some Myanmar news services reported demonstrations in other parts of the country, with one especially large demonstration in the central city of Mandalay.

 

The protests went from gathering hundreds of people to gathering thousands on Saturday. Also that day the authorities cut off most of the Internet access. Breaches in the Army's firewall allowed some news to circulate, but also fueled fears of a total news blackout.

 

Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter had been ordered to be blocked, although accessing them partially was still possible. Social media has been crucial in spreading independent news and organizing protests.

 

Netblocks, a London-based service that monitors internet access outages, confirmed that internet access had been partially restored on Sunday, although it indicated that it could be temporary and that social media remained blocked.

The telecommunications blockade is a stark reminder that Myanmar is in danger of losing its progress after Monday's coup. During the previous five decades of military rule in Myanmar, the country was isolated and its communications with the outside world were strictly controlled.

 

Elected lawmakers from Suu Kyi's party held a virtual meeting on Friday to declare themselves the only legitimate representatives of the people and called for international recognition as the country's government.

 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations will do everything in its power to unite the international community and create the conditions to reverse the military coup in Myanmar.