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Large ‘22222’ Crowds Fill Myanmar Streets Despite Dire Warning From Junta

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of major cities across Myanmar Monday for an all-day nationwide strike in defiance of a warning by the three-week-old military regime that further demonstrations could lead to “loss of life.”

The “22222 Popular Uprising” — drawing on the digits in 2/22/2021 — of mass strikes and demonstrations came exactly three weeks since the army deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government. In weeks of daily protests, four people have been killed, all shot by security forces.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of major cities across Myanmar Monday for an all-day nationwide strike in defiance of a warning by the three-week-old military regime that further demonstrations could lead to “loss of life.”

The “22222 Popular Uprising” — drawing on the digits in 2/22/2021 — of mass strikes and demonstrations came exactly three weeks since the army deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government. In weeks of daily protests, four people have been killed, all shot by security forces.

Protesters rallied despite bans on public gatherings of more than five people, and amid an internet service blackout in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, from 1 a.m. to noon on Monday.

Military convoys entered major residential areas of Yangon and set up blockades on streets of foreign embassies and at the local United Nations office, where demonstrations have been held.

The deployments came after the military on late Sunday warned on state television and via loudspeakers on patrol trucks of a “loss of life” if the protests continue.

“It is found that the protesters have raised their incitement towards riot and anarchy mob on the day of 22 February,” the Associated Press quoted the English text that appeared on screen. “Protesters are now inciting the people, especially emotional teenagers and youths, to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life.”

State-run MRTV warned local media outlets not to use the words “coup” or “power-seizing government” in Burmese or they would face legal action, including shutdowns. MRTV and the junta’s webpage have both been banned from Facebook, which millions of people in Myanmar use as their primary source of news and information.

On Monday morning, however, huge crowds moved past trucks blocking the roads and rallied at Yangon’s Sule Pagoda and at the Hledan and Myae Ni Gone junctions — historic protest sites from the “8888 Uprising” when students launched a nationwide movement against decades of entrenched military rule on August 8, 1988, that was crushed by the army with thousands killed.

More anti-junta protests

In Mandalay, the second-largest city, where two protesters were shot dead by security forces on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in the streets against the regime, watched over by a large group of security personnel outside the regional High Court and the central railway station, though no incidents were reported.

Other mass demonstrations were held in the towns of Pathein in Ayeyarwady region, Myaing and Sinphyukyun in Magway region, and Lashio in northern Shan state, the last of which had a protest attended by about 100,000 people. No incidents were reported at the demonstrations.

In Magway, all shops, restaurants, and shopping malls were closed and entire families along with civil servants, monks, and farmers took part in an anti-military march. There were no incidents, although most of the main roads were closed down by the police.

“Just look at the hundreds of thousands of people on the roads taking part in these protests throughout the country,” said a resident of Pwintphyu in Magway region. “The whole world should realize by now that it is totally impossible we had fraudulent elections as the military council had announced.”

People from villages surrounding the ancient city of Bagan gathered for a protest that numbered up to 100,000.

Similar mass “22222” anti-coup protest marches were held in the regional cities of Myitkyina, Mawlamyine, Loikaw, and Hpa-an as well as in small towns across the country of 54 million.

Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry, also under junta control, issued a statement Monday slamming widespread foreign criticism of the coup as “tantamount to flagrant interference in internal affairs of Myanmar.”

The State Administration Council, as the military regime formally calls itself, is “exerting utmost efforts for peace, stability, unity and [the] socioeconomic development of the country and people,” the statement said.

“Despite facing the unlawful demonstrations, incitements of unrest and violence, the authorities concerned are exercising utmost restraint through minimum use of force to address the disturbances in order to maintain rule of law and public safety in line with domestic laws and international practices,” it said.

Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Myanmar Coup Protests Are Growing, Defying Threats and Snipers

A general strike on Monday made clear that the fatal shooting of two protesters over the weekend, and the fear of a further bloody crackdown, would not halt opposition to the return of military rule.

A general strike on Monday made clear that the fatal shooting of two protesters over the weekend, and the fear of a further bloody crackdown, would not halt opposition to the return of military rule.

My collections of poems | Yolanda – “This is My Private War” (Swedish)

Here is a picture of the books I published at Vulkan publishing house in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Do you want to read more and / or buy “In the shadow of a silhouette fragile as glass”? Click here

Do you want to read more and / or buy “Alternative”? Click here

There is also more to read about the books if you search for the titles in the search field at the far right (under the header).

Feel free to ask questions if you are curious! 

Source: My collections of poems | Yolanda – “This is My Private War”

Crossing the grass

Lignes invisibiles

Poet’s Note: The only thing, which made me suffer so much, but in the same time grow as I never imagined before, was the time I spent alone – and this was most of my life.


The little stream near the grape fields

turns into a soft valley


There once, tenderly, passed the water

Now it seems that the grass enjoys only

some fresh morning drops

That river that once was

floating over that grass

is no longer needed


Me passing this curve made of green

I cut something from down the earth,

something hidden inside the wild grass

it looks like oregano

For real when I rub it on my palms

it smells like oregano

what an excitement on that face!


I then find some deep breaths

inhaling the freshness of the oregano

and this is the moment where it starts…

the most vivid spin inside the fields


The…

View original post 76 more words

Chief of Cherokee Nation asks Jeep to stop using tribe’s name

By Peter Valdes-Dapena | CNN

The principal chief of the Cherokee Nation has asked Jeep to stop using the tribe’s name on its SUVs.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is the brand’s best-selling model, while the Jeep Cherokee is its third best-selling. Jeep recently unveiled a redesigned version of the Grand Cherokee, and the company has sold SUVs under the Cherokee brand name for about 45 years.

“I think we’re in a day and age in this country where it’s time for both corporations and team sports to retire the use of Native American names, images and mascots from their products, team jerseys and sports in general. I’m sure this comes from a place that is well-intended, but it does not honor us by having our name plastered on the side of a car,” Chuck Hoskin, Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation said in a written statement.

He had initially sent the statement to Car and Driver, which first reported on the news.

“Our vehicle names have been carefully chosen and nurtured over the years to honor and celebrate Native American people for their nobility, prowess, and pride,” Jeep said in a statement. “We are, more than ever, committed to a respectful and open dialogue with Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr.”

For his part, Hoskin said he could not see any sort of arrangement under which it would be acceptable to him for Jeep to continue using the tribe’s name on its vehicles.

“It’s one of the most valuable things. It’s a part of our Identity,” he said in an inverview with CNN Business. “And if we wanted to match up who had the stronger claim and connection and affinity for the Cherokee name it would certainly be the Cherokee people.”

The Cherokee have been known by that name since before Europeans came in contact with them.

Car and Driver had asked Hoskin about the name after several other companies and sports teams announced changes to brand names and logos that used ethnic stereotypes and caricatures considered offensive.

Last summer, the Washington Redskins announced it would drop its name and call itself the Washington Football Team. Several months later, the Cleveland Indians baseball team announced it would change its name, as well.

Land O’ Lakes removed an image of a native American woman from the label on its butter. Other food brands, such as Uncle Ben’s rice and Aunt Jemima syrup and pancake mix, changed their names and logos as well.

The Jeep Cherokee was first introduced in 1974. The Grand Cherokee, with a more modern, car-like appearance was introduced in 1993. The original Cherokee model line was dropped in 2001, but the name was reintroduced in 2013 on a new compact SUV.

ASIA/MYANMAR – Appeal of Catholic Bishops: peace and reconciliation through dialogue – Agenzia Fides

Today, the Catholic Bishops join the Ma Ha Na monks (see Fides, 20/2/2021) in warning the military: “Myanmar can be wiped off the world map if problems are not resolved in a peaceful manner”, and in reiterating with force “the call for reconciliation through dialogue”.
The Burmese Bishops conclude with these words: “The use of violence must stop urgently. Lessons from the past teach us that violence never wins. Seventy years after independence, those in power must invest in peace. The capital of peace will heal the nation. Let’s give peace a chance. Peace is possible and it is the only possible way”. Source: ASIA/MYANMAR – Appeal of Catholic Bishops: peace and reconciliation through dialogue – Agenzia Fides

One dose of Pfizer vaccine slashes COVID-19 deaths by more than 75 percent, report finds

Although people receiving Pfizer’s version of the coronavirus vaccine will be getting two doses, a new report by the British government finds just one shot is having a profound impact on ending the pandemic. Pfizer COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine

LONDON — Although people receiving Pfizer’s version of the coronavirus vaccine will be getting two doses, a new report by the British government finds just one shot is having a profound impact on ending the pandemic. Researchers with Public Health England (PHE) find one dose of the Pfizer vaccine slashes the risk of death from…

The post One dose of Pfizer vaccine slashes COVID-19 deaths by more than 75 percent, report finds appeared first on Study Finds.

For the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1) – GovTrack.us (expand voting rights)

To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes. Source: For the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1) – GovTrack.us

Muhammad Ali as You’ve Never Seen Him – The New York Times

That powerful combination of photographs and comic book art is on display in a new graphic novel, “Muhammad Ali, Kinshasa 1974,” which retells the events of the legendary heavyweight title fight in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The graphic novel, which is out on Tuesday, was written by Jean-David Morvan, who interviewed Abbas for his firsthand account and used the photographer’s archive of images to help tell the story. He also made Abbas, who died in 2018, the book’s narrator. A French edition of the graphic novel, which has colors by Hiroyuki Ooshima, was published last year.

Image

Credit…Titan Comics

Myanmar’s pro-democracy protest movement is strengthening

Aerial photo of a street crowded with protesters.
Protesters mass around vehicles as they block roads during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, on February 22, 2021. | Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images

On Monday, the country saw one of the largest uprisings yet against the February 1 military coup.

Myanmar saw its largest nationwide protests since the military coup earlier this month, with hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating in the streets and businesses shutting down across the country.

Monday’s protests are the latest in a nearly month-long civil disobedience campaign that erupted in response to the February 1 takeover by Myanmar’s military that saw the country’s civilian leaders detained and ended the country’s decade-long experiment with quasi-democratic governance.

Since then, mass demonstrations have taken place across the country and citizens have engaged in acts of resistance, from lying across train tracks at a station in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, to work stoppages that now threaten Myanmar’s economy.

Mass protests are nationwide in #Myanmar today https://t.co/Nlf3j4AVIx

— Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) February 22, 2021

Monday’s demonstrations — which some are calling the five twos, or the “22222 uprising” — saw hundreds of thousands of protesters take to the streets of Myanmar’s cities; stores, banks, and fast food chains shut down in solidarity. Protesters chose the date because it echoes the August 8, 1988 (8/8/88) protests against military rule, which the military suppressed in a bloody crackdown.

Monday’s action went forward despite the military’s threats that mass resistance would lead to “a confrontation path where [people] will suffer the loss of life.”

In cities like Yangon, authorities set up barricades and parked armored vehicles to try to block the mass gatherings, but the protesters were undeterred. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, though there were sporadic reports of violence and arrests, particularly in the capital of Naypyidaw.

But at least three people have died in confrontations with police since the protests began, including two protesters who were killed in Mandalay when police fired live and rubber bullets into a crowd of striking workers. The first protester to die — a 20-year-old woman who was hit by a bullet at a Naypyidaw protest — has helped galvanize the movement, despite fears of an even more aggressive crackdown from the military rulers.

The military junta continues to impose internet and communication blackouts, an attempt to prevent people from organizing. Activists also worry that the blackouts may give authorities cover to try to arrest protesters and other political organizers. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a Thailand-based human rights organization, 684 people have been arrested, charged, or sentenced since the February 1 coup, and 637 people are still in detention or face outstanding warrants.

The protesters are proof the Myanmar coup is not going as planned

The protesters are demanding the end of the military junta and the restoration of the democratically elected civilian government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, won overwhelmingly in elections in November.

But just as the new government was set to be sworn in, the military interceded and insisted the election results were invalid because of widespread voter fraud. Neither the country’s Union Election Commission nor international observers found evidence of widespread irregularities that would have changed the outcome of the vote. Still, the military has claimed that it will retain control until it can host new elections in a year.

The military retained a degree of control even after the country undertook democratic reforms about a decade ago, but the February coup dispensed with even a nominal democratic government. The ousted Suu Kyi was detained and eventually charged with allegedly importing illegal walkie-talkies. Another charge — of meeting with a large crowd in defiance of Covid-19 public health measures — was announced last week as the leader’s trial began in secret.

But Myanmar’s civilians have met the military’s actions with sustained resistance, pulling from a wide swath of Myanmarese, including students, teachers, doctors, bankers, and laborers. Members of Myanmar’s persecuted ethnic and religious minority groups — who still faced repression under Suu Kyi’s leadership — have also joined in the uprisings.

Protesters have also called out the military’s repression of the Rohingya and other minority groups with signs during the demonstrations, a remarkable show of solidarity.

Protesters hold a poster mentioned “we deeply apologized all Kachin to Rohingya who are under oppression “ during protest in Myanmar. credit: Khin Zaw Myint Facebook post. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/xmtoiFbHIm

— Wa Lone (@walone4) February 22, 2021

Activists inside and outside Myanmar continue to worry that the military will lose patience and decisively try to crack down on the movement; at the same time, the pro-democracy resistance is strengthening despite the junta’s warnings and attempts to cut off communications.

The international community has also condemned the Myanmar coup. The Biden administration is sanctioning military members who orchestrated the coup, preventing them from accessing about $1 billion in the United States. It represents one of the first international tests for the White House, though its options are limited in how much pressure it can place on Myanmar. Still, the administration has made clear that it is closely watching as the uprisings unfold.

“The United States will continue to take firm action against those who perpetrate violence against the people of Burma as they demand the restoration of their democratically elected government,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Sunday night. “We stand with the people of Burma.”