Protesters In Myanmar Demand Arrested Leaders To Be Released

Myanmar Protests: Protesters against military rule marched in Myanmar on Saturday, three months after the arrest of elected leaders of the country. Small blasts compounded a sense of crisis that could bring state administration to a halt, the US envoy warned.

The military has tried to end dissent and impose its authority on the people who are opposed to the return of the rules by the generals after a decade of democratic reforms that included a government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar protests take place despite the relentless crackdown. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) advocacy group, at least 759 protesters were killed on an earlier occasion. However, this does not prevent crowds from coming out day after day to reject the junta. In one of the two rallies in the main city of Yangon, the protesters chanted, "Our cause, democracy, our cause, a federal union. Free arrested leaders".

Suu Kyi, aged 75 has been detained since the coup along with many other members of her party. As per AAPP, more than 3,400 people have been detained for opposing the military.

According to reports, protests also took place in Mandalay and the southern town of Dawei though there weren't any immediate reports of violence. But small blasts in various places including Yangon were seen on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Christine Schraner Burgener,  the U.N. special envoy on Myanmar said to the Security Council that violence was worsening due to the absence of a collective international response to the coup. The diplomats who attended the private meeting were reportedly of the opinion that the running of the state might come to a standstill.

Burgener hopes to travel to Myanmar once the military approves her visit. As the violence rose, Burgener expressed concern and cited reports of bomb attacks and of civilians, particularly students from urban areas who were getting weapons training from ethnic minority insurgents.