SASKATOON - A small group from the Myanmar community in Saskatoon held a peaceful protest Saturday to denounce the military government in their country and to also commemorate the anniversary of the 1988 uprising against a previous military junta. The protest coincided on the August 8, 1988 (known as the 8888 Uprising) anniversary of a series of civil unrest in the Southeast Asian country against the then military-controlled government.
The military ousted the duly elected government in another coup last Feb. 1 and installed junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as Prime Minister. Myanmar had a democratically elected government that was formerly led by Nobel Peace Prize awardee Aung San Suu Kyi for almost 10 years, after more than five decades of military rule.
Khin Htay Yin, a spokesperson for the 400-plus strong Myanmar community in the city, said they have been protesting every week since the military once again took control from the civilian government on February 1 of this year.
Our community comes out here to protest against the military dictatorship. Today is the 27th consecutive week of our protests in Saskatoon.”
“We, in Saskatoon, are the only ones in Canada that are doing the weekly protest. We are also taking part of a global protest to commemorate the bloody 8888 Uprising. There are global strikes to recognize August 8. We are here to raise awareness and fight for our democracy, and we need a lot of help.”
In a separate statement by the Burmese Diaspora, citizens of Myanmar who are living and working in other countries, the Burmese Military said they are just upholding and defending the 2008 Constitution that’s why they declared a state of emergency on Feb. 1.
"The seizure of power was illegal and not in conformity with [the 2008] Constitution indeed.”
“The state of emergency was declared not by President Win Myint, as required under Articles 418 and 418 of the Constitution, but by the military-appointed vice president, Ret. Gen. Myint Swe. After then, [President Myint] had been detained and forced to relinquish his office. Thus, even if there were any legal grounds for the declaration of a state of emergency, it was promulgated unlawfully.”
Yin has also accused the current military government of allegedly using force to disperse peaceful protests and arrest those who oppose the army rule.
“The security forces are killing our people. They are shooting peaceful protesters with weapons like RPGs, machine guns, and bombs. Houses are now abandoned and over 500,000 people fled their homes.”
The ongoing pandemic is also an issue that needs to be checked according to Yin, as she also accused the Hlaing-led administration of allegedly not doing anything to lessen the impact of the deadly virus to the people of Myanmar. As of Monday, there have been 333,127 cases in Myanmar with 12,014 deaths while 249,633 recovered.
“They are rejecting people who are coming to hospitals and so people are treating their family members at home. Thousands of people die daily because the military reject the treatment. People are now trying to buy medicines and oxygen on their own. But the military arrests them and take away the oxygen. They are doing all crimes against humanity. People are dying.”
She added that raising awareness on what’s happening in their country is the main reason of their protest.
“We are part of a global strike. Other cities joined us today and will be doing their own protest. We also came to honor the 33rd anniversary and the people of the 8888 Uprising.”
