Protesters issued a three-finger salute as they participated in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on July 3, 2021.
- On Min Aung Rai’s birthday, a fake funeral was held in Myanmar where the coup took place because of the protest, and his portrait was burned in the process.
- Since the military ousted the civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the country of Myanmar has been in its darkest period.
- This incident occurred in early February and triggered a large-scale uprising, with hundreds of thousands of citizens protesting every day.
On Saturday, protesters in the coup in Myanmar burned a portrait of the military leader Min Aung Lai and held a fake funeral to commemorate his birthday.
Since the coup that overthrew civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, the country has experienced large-scale protests and brutal military reactions.
According to local monitoring organizations, nearly 890 civilians died in the repression by the National Administrative Council—as the military government claims—nearly 6,500 were arrested.
On Saturday, anti-coup demonstrators posted photos on social media of a traditional noodle soup called Mohinga, which is often served at funerals in Myanmar.
A Yangon resident told AFP:
I did it (Mohinga) on his birthday because I wanted him to die soon. Many innocent people lost their lives because of him. So, if he dies, the whole country will be happy.
In Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, some militants burned photos of military leaders and set fire to fake coffins at mock funerals.
Min Aung Hlaing will turn 65 on Saturday-in accordance with the country’s 2008 constitution, he will be forced to retire while leading the armed forces.
Some analysts believe that this is a factor in his seizure of power, because with the help of a party backed by the military that lost in the general election last year, he was unable to find a way to a higher position.
Before the coup, Min Anglai was considered an international pariah and was condemned for presiding over the brutal suppression of stateless Rohingya in the country in 2017.
He was banned by Facebook for inciting hate speech against persecuted minorities, and UN investigators have called for the prosecution of him and other senior military leaders for genocide.
But for many years, he firmly denied almost all allegations of human rights violations, and said that the military operation that drove some 750,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh justified the eradication of the insurgents.
In 2011, he was appointed as the leader of the Myanmar Armed Forces, just when the previous generation of military leaders converted the country to a parliamentary system after decades of junta rule.
Since the coup, Min Aung Hlaing’s regime has been facing international condemnation and sanctions, fearing the increase in violence, political prisoners, the shutdown of the Internet, and the withdrawal of freedom of the press.
According to an official newspaper, his National Administrative Council insisted on Saturday that it was working to achieve “a lasting peace for the entire country.”
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