11th April, 2021 #day70

 

On the 70th day of the coup, Myanmar people held another nationwide peaceful protest, dubbed as #FlashStrike, from 9:00 to 9:15 p.m. tonight with the slogan "Stars will shine on the ground". Protesters participated by switching off their houselights and aiming their phone and touch lights to the sky. Throughout the country, banging pots and pans are being held every night at 8 p.m. despite many being shot and beaten for their participations. For the first time, the junta publishes its daily newspaper in Chinese and Russian. Protesters have also begun publishing underground newspapers such as “The Voice of Spring Daily” and “Molotov” in Burmese due to the closure of newspapers and the blockade of the Internet. These two-pages daily newspapers are being distributed in public places.

According to an official letter leaked online yesterday, the junta issued a letter on April 7 dismissing 24 professors and assistant-professors from across the country involved in the CDM movement. They have been refusing to work and open universities in protest of the coup. Teachers are among the first professional groups to join the CDM movement. Moreover, the junta has been offering incentives and promotions to bring them back to work. The junta has previously announced that universities will reopen and allow students to pass two classes a year. A students’ union leader told to the VOA that many troops are deployed in the universities’ compounds and teachers living on campus in Yangon are being pressured to return to work.

According to local media reports, the names and images of 17 people in the junta’s wanted list have been posted in several cities. Those include Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, who is praised for his hard work during the Covid pandemic, and Min Ko Naing, an influential 88 Generation politician. Today, the junta issued another arrest warrant for 20 artists and public figures under Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code. According to DVB, about 150 artists and influencers have been charged under this section. The junta bans films and music featuring these artists from airing. An artist told to the VOA that films waiting to be screen on cinemas cost between 60 billion and 100 billion kyats (US $ 45-70 million) but now all have been stopped.

A letter of the Arakan Army Commander-in-Chief stated that the AA is "deeply saddened" by the deaths of those killed in the junta’s extrajudicial killings and said it would do whatever it could to help build the nation, but do not want the CDM and street protests in Rakhine State. The statement has been strongly criticised by some saying it demotivates those involved in the nationwide CDM. But, some argue that the AA does not want the CDM because the AA could control local administrations in Rakhine rather than the junta could. Rakhine civil society organisations have told RFA that the Thingyan New Year celebrations will no longer be held in Sittwe, the capital city, out of sympathy for the dead. Fourteen policemen killed in yesterday's attack by three northern allies in Naungmon, Lashio, were buried today, Shan News reported. Many netizens are commenting in favour of the attack. According to a member of the police, Myanmar Labor News reported that the unmarried members of the troops will marry those widows by drawing of lots. People close to the military say that this has become a norm in the Tatmadaw. In Momauk Township, Kachin State, the junta’s 370 artillery units and the KIA have been fighting since 8 pm last night. In addition, a spokesman for the KNU's 5th Brigade, Brigadier General Saw Kaledo, told VOA that fighting has intensified again in Hpapun township, Karen State.