Military vehicles and soldiers block the road leading to the parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on Tuesday
Credit: Maung Longlan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Hopes of an effective, united front to force the generals to allow a peaceful return to parliamentary democracy also depend on co-operation from China, one of Myanmar’s biggest trading partners. Beijing so far has given a muted reaction, calling on all parties to "properly handle their differences".
The streets of Myanmar’s major cities have been calm but tense since Monday after an overnight curfew that was already in place to curb coronavirus.
In the biggest public display of anger so far, people in Yangon banged on pots and pans and honked car horns on Tuesday evening. "It is a Myanmar tradition to drive away evil or bad karma by beating tin or metal buckets," said a Yangon resident.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Yangon Youth Network activist group, one of Myanmar’s biggest, said it had launched a civil disobedience campaign. The National League for Democracy called for Ms Suu Kyi’s immediate freedom and the release of all detainees "as soon as possible".
Reports suggested that some 400 MPs preparing to take up their seats were apprehended as the military seized power. Dozens of other activists are also believed to have been arrested.
One National League for Democracy politician who spoke to The Telegraph on condition of anonymity, said he and his colleagues were awaiting their fate.
"We’ve packed already and are ready if they come and take us from here [the Municipal Guest House where MPs are staying]," he said. "We were not allowed to go out of the compound this morning. It’s like we were under house arrest."
The MPs were first alerted to the coup shortly before 4am on Monday as trucks parked outside and mobile phone signals were blacked out.
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