• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Monday, May 12, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

Police rampage targets striking railway workers in Myanmar

The Canary by The Canary
18 February 2021
in Global, News
Reading Time: 4 mins read
170 2
A A
0
Home Global
319
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Demonstrators against Myanmar’s military takeover returned to the streets on Thursday after a night of armed intimidation by security forces in the country’s second biggest city.

The police rampage in an area of Mandalay where state railway workers are housed showed the conflict between protesters and the new military government is increasingly focused on the businesses and government institutions that sustain the economy.

State railway workers had called a strike on Sunday, joining a loosely organised Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) that was initiated by medical workers and is the backbone of the resistance to the February 1 coup that removed the elected civilian government.

Demonstrators in Mandalay
Demonstrators in Mandalay (AP)

One labour activist who did not wish to be named said:

Many workers and citizens of Myanmar believe that CDM is very effective for making the junta fail.

That’s why health, education, transportation, different government departments and banks’ employees are participating in CDM together.

Police retaliation

The railway strike has received support from ordinary citizens who have placed themselves on tracks to stop trains the military have commandeered.

The efforts by Mandalay residents to block a railway line on Wednesday apparently triggered the retaliation that night.

Less than an hour after the 8pm start of the nightly curfew, gunshots were heard as more than two dozen men in police uniforms, shields and helmets, marched in tight formation by the railway workers’ housing.

Demonstrators in Yangon wave flags belonging to different ethnic groups during a protest against the coup
Demonstrators wave flags belonging to different ethnic groups during a protest against the coup in Yangon (AP)

Numerous videos posted on social media showed flashes as shots were heard, and some were shown shooting slingshots and throwing rocks at buildings. Calls of “left, right, left, right” could be heard along with shouts of “shoot, shoot”.

Several reports included photos of people with small wounds, with claims they were caused by rubber bullets. Some unconfirmed reports said several railway workers had been arrested.

The military coup

The junta has said it took over — preventing parliament from convening and detaining the nation’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others — because the November election was tainted by voting irregularities.

It replaced the election commission that affirmed Ms Suu Kyi’s party won by a landslide and says it will hold a new election in a year’s time.

The Biden government in America has imposed new US sanctions on Myanmar because of the coup, and the United Nations and other country’s governments have called for Ms Suu Kyi’s elected government to be restored.

Police stand guard as demonstrators protest in Mandalay
Police stand guard as demonstrators protest in Mandalay (AP)

Opponents of the coup are also urging foreign businesses to cut their ties to Myanmar operations they believe benefit the military.

Widespread protest

About 200 people demonstrated on Thursday near Kanbauk, in the south of the country, outside premises involved in a major pipeline operation that pumps gas from offshore fields for export.

The demonstrators moved between the premises of Total of France, PTTEP of Thailand and Petronas of Malaysia and later joined with a larger anti-coup demonstration in Kanbauk.

Extracting industries, such as gas and oil drilling and jade mining, are key sources of foreign revenue for Myanmar. Rights campaigners have appealed to foreign companies involved in those industries to stop paying revenue to the new military government.

Street protests continued in other cities. In Yangon, some tried to hinder security forces by abandoning cars in streets. But small groups of men, including several dressed in Buddhist monks’ robes, attacked several drivers and their vehicles, smashing windshields in some cases.

On Wednesday night, the military for the fourth day in a row, ordered an internet blackout, almost entirely blocking online access from 1am to 9am.

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

The NHS and care workers who have died during the coronavirus pandemic

Next Post

Explosive study shows the wildlife trade plays a major role in the rapid loss of the world’s species

Next Post
Wildlife products spread out on a table

Explosive study shows the wildlife trade plays a major role in the rapid loss of the world's species

London Black Lives Matter Peaceful Protest from Vauxhall to Westminster

Black Lives Matter UK just took a vital step in building a mass movement

The army is now hijacking feminist language in an attempt to recruit young women

The army is now hijacking feminist language in an attempt to recruit young women

Spain arrests 80 in three nights of riots over rapper’s jailing

Spain arrests 80 in three nights of riots over rapper’s jailing

Massive victory for workers as Uber loses Supreme Court battle

Please login to join discussion
DWP cuts will hit 670,000 families already living in poverty
Analysis

DWP cuts will throw 670,000 families already in poverty into even further deprivation

by Steve Topple
12 May 2025
ICE agents attempt to abduct mother and child, neighbours response goes viral
Trending

Neighbours resist police and ICE attack on mother and her child

by Ed Sykes
12 May 2025
Cranswick-owned pig farm: piglets in crates.
News

Shocking violence against piglets uncovered at farm operated by major supermarket supplier Cranswick

by The Canary
12 May 2025
Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub
Lifestyle

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub

by Nathan Spears
12 May 2025
Steel companies ArcelorMittal and Ternium continue to run roughshod over Global South communities
News

Steel companies ArcelorMittal and Ternium continue to ride roughshod over Global South communities

by The Canary
12 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

DWP cuts will hit 670,000 families already living in poverty
Analysis
Steve Topple

DWP cuts will throw 670,000 families already in poverty into even further deprivation

ICE agents attempt to abduct mother and child, neighbours response goes viral
Trending
Ed Sykes

Neighbours resist police and ICE attack on mother and her child

Cranswick-owned pig farm: piglets in crates.
News
The Canary

Shocking violence against piglets uncovered at farm operated by major supermarket supplier Cranswick

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub

ADVERTISEMENT
Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Why More People Are Seeking Legal Advice When Separating

Travel
Nathan Spears

Hungary Vignette Adventures: Discovering Hidden Gems by Car