JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Myanmar’s military authorities Monday attempted to disperse marchers in the country’s capital with water cannons and announced on national television that they would be taking legal action against protesters opposing the military coup that overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. The march in Nay Pyi Taw was one of a series held across the country Monday as people observed a general strike. In the wake of Monday’s marches, the military announced over the country’s MRTV National TV channels that legal actions will be taken against protesters and demonstrators. Early Monday evening in Myanmar, the military government declared a curfew from 8 PM to 4 AM, in effect imposing martial law in seven Myanmar provinces: Aungmyaytharsan, Chanayetharsan, Chanmyatharsi, Maharaungmyay, Pyigyitagon, Patheingyi and Amarapura.

From Myanmar, one of JURIST’s local law student correspondents has filed this report:

Now, we are receiving the news that the people who have been provided by military are wearing Red T-shirt (the color of [the civilian governing] NLD party) and making intentional violence. We are normal citizens and students just demonstrating against the illegal coup and to maintain our democracy. Right now, the military is trying to occur violence and then they will show the international community that as the civilians do the violence, we have to control them. But it is certain that all the civilians do not create chaos and are just acting peacefully. In our country, the older generations have been suffering from the military regime and most people are frightened that we might be shot by guns or something else like water cannon. In the 1988 revolution, most of the university students became political prisoners and many people died on the road. The dead bodies were everywhere.

We don’t want to go back to the dark era.

On 6 February, the military even released the faked news that Daw Aung San Su Kyi [DASSK] have been released after cutting off the Internet. I even cried after I heard that news because I was too happy. However, after a few minutes, I realized that might be fake news just to stop the general strike and Civil Disobedience Movement. We, youths, had to tell our relatives, neighborhood and all the people as much as we can. On that night, they even did the fireworks so loudly to drown out the celebration of the faked news about the release of DASSK. We were normal citizens just clapping our hands and no one have that large amount of fireworks.

Some said that doing fireworks is to cover the sound of shooting guns. They keep releasing false news and we have to wake up with sorrow every morning since 1 February. In every minute, our freedom of speech, freedom of access to information and our human rights have been violated. We, all the youths in our country are now on the road to protest the military coup. Lastly, this is the end game of our battle to destroy the dictatorship.

The military even arrested the Minister of Kachin Region again from her home detention. And no one knows where our minister (Minister of Mandalay Region) is who has been detained.