Three protesters were arrested in Sagaing Region’s Monywa Township on Tuesday evening after regime forces opened fire on six young activists commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.
Seven junta personnel in civilian clothes arrived by car on Pyi Htaung Su Road and opened fire on the small flash-mob protest, but three escaped, according to the Monywa People’s Strike Committee.
“The three who escaped were not harmed,” a committee spokesperson told The Irrawaddy. “We heard that only one of those arrested was injured,” the spokesperson added.
The fate of the three arrested activists remains unknown.
Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of the nationwide 1988 pro-democracy uprising in Myanmar. The day in August 1988 still stands as a turning point in Myanmar’s history—a day that marked the emergence of a full-fledged democracy movement that managed to topple the regime led by General Ne Win. Although the regime was ousted, a new junta seized power.
The day defines Myanmar’s ongoing struggle to topple successive military dictatorships and replace them with democracy.
Protests were also held in Sagaing, Magwe, Tanintharyi and Yangon regions on Tuesday to mark the 35th anniversary of the uprising. In Yangon, youths staged a Umbrella Movement protest by raising red umbrellas adorned with the Burmese digit “8” and the slogan “Revolutionary flames are still burning.”
Another anti-regime protest was held on the Sule Pagoda overpass in central Yangon by members of the Democratic Party for a New Society and Youth for a New Society. The hanged black T-shirts emblazoned with the Burmese digit “8” from the railings of the overpass to commemorate the anniversary of the uprising.
Flash mob protests have become a regular form of protest against the regime. They are usually conducted by small groups of youths. They started in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and have spread to other regions and states.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Thursday with a correction to say it was regime personnel who arrived by car, not activists.
