Protesters against Myanmar’s military takeover were back in the streets of towns and villages on Tuesday, a day after a general strike closed shops and made large numbers protest.
In Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, a funeral was held for Thet Naing Win, 37, one of two protesters shot dead by security forces on Saturday.
The numbers were down from the massive crowds on Monday, but groups of protesters in Yangon, the country’s largest city, gathered again on Tuesday at various venues for peaceful protests.
Protesters raised their anger at a new target on Tuesday, gathering outside the Indonesian embassy in response to a report that Jakarta was offering its regional neighbors to offer qualified support to the junta’s plan for a new election l ‘next year. Protesters demand that the results of last year’s election, won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, be honored.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah denied the report, saying Tuesday that “it is not at all Indonesia’s position to support a new election in Myanmar.”
The international community continues to be concerned about Myanmar, with the Group of Seven foreign ministers issuing their second statement on Tuesday since the coup.
“Anyone who responds to peaceful protests with violence must be held accountable,” they said. The group also condemned restrictions on free speech, including arrests and blocking internet access, and called for the release of Suu Kyi and her colleagues.
The United States and several Western governments have called on the junta to refrain from violence, release detainees, and restore Suu Kyi’s government.
On Monday, the United States said it was imposing sanctions on more members of the junta over the killing of peaceful protesters by security forces.
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