HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ANTI-COUP PROTESTERS SWAMP MYANMAR

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in central Yangon in Myanmar’s single largest rally since the Feb. 1 coup that ousted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the New York Times reported.

The trial for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi also began in secret this week. Her defense lawyer was told so late that the day’s proceedings were over when he arrived. Michael Tostevin of Reuters also reported early on the same day that the Myanmar military junta has issued arrest warrants against six celebrities for encouraging strikes that have paralyzed many government offices in protests against this month’s coup, with total arrests since then now nearing 500.

Late on Wednesday, security forces opened fire in Myanmar’s second biggest city of Mandalay as they confronted railway workers who had stopped trains running as part of the civil disobedience movement.

One person was wounded, residents said. Early on Thursday, police ordered dozens of chanting protesters to disperse from a busy intersection near the main university in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Students were due to gather in a different part of the city later.

"They have a right to do so without the threat of detention or violence at the hands of the Tatmadaw.

The world marches with you today!" tweeted Tom Andrews, the UN's special rapporteur for Myanmar, using the official name of country's armed forces, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported on February 18.

News portal Eleven Myanmar reported on a "sea of demonstrators" lashing out in the wake of the February 1 coup, with hundreds of thousands demanding that Aung San Suu Kyi be released from detention and restored to her position as de facto leader of the civilian government.

The street marches have been more peaceful than bloodily suppressed demonstrations in a previous half century of army rule, but they and the civil disobedience movement have had a crippling effect on much official business.

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