‘We will fight them till the end’, Myanmar protesters vow to push on

Protesters played a game of cat and mouse with security forces across Myanmar on Tuesday, with demonstrators against last month’s coup vowing not to stop until the military putsch is reversed.

“We have no way to go back. We will fight them till the end. They have nothing, they have only relied on their guns,” said Nyi Nyi Lin, 26, a protester from North Okkaplapa township.

Tens of thousands gathered across the country to protest, scattering from one place and resuming their demonstrations in another as military forces worked to break them up.

“In the city, the protesters came out as scattered movements.

“But outside of the city, there are always a lot of people protesting.

“The number of protesters has not reduced yet despite the crackdown,” one unnamed witness in the city of Monywa told dpa.

Protesters have been shot dead in recent days, he added.

A precise death toll is nearly impossible to establish. But reports out of the country indicate that about 80 people have died in clashes with security forces in recent weeks.

According to local news reports, protests also resumed on Tuesday in the cities of Mandalay, Monywa, and Pathenin and in the regions and states of Kachin, Karen, Pyay, Shan, and Tanintharyi.

There were reports of more than 40 protesters arrested in the city of Myeik.

In Sanchange township, a group of protesters who spent much of Monday trapped in neighbourhood houses as they tried to evade security forces said most of them managed to get to freedom by early Tuesday.

“We were protesting in Sanchaung yesterday and there were over 1,000 protesters.

“At 3 pm, the police surrounded us and we kept ourselves in the houses.

“We thought that they would leave their troops around 7 pm but they did not,” one protest leader, Shar Yahmone, told dpa.

“At 8 pm, they announced with amplifiers that all the people hiding had to come out or they would take action against the house owners … they fired and threatened people.

“They seized some houses and arrested the protesters,” Shar Yahmoner said, adding most of the protesters were able to leave by 4 am.

According to the news reports, 27 were detained during the action and there were claims of police brutality.

Video footage and pictures show that the military forces fired shots and threatened the people.

Protesters have demanded an end to military control and want de facto leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi to be set free.

She is under house arrest and faces charges ranging from sowing disorder to illegally importing walkie-talkies.

Coup leaders have alleged without proof that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy engaged in vote tampering in November elections.

But outside analysts point out that Suu Kyi’s party is very popular in the country and that it is more likely that the military is shocked by how poorly it did in the polls.