Myanmar Coup: Sleepless residents patrol neighbourhoods across country as junta detains hundreds, frees ‘troublemakers’ – World News , NewsGater

Myanmar’s traditional mediums hold up posters during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon. AFP

Yangon: Sleepless residents of Myanmar patrol their neighborhoods at night to guard against arrest raids and rioters released by the military junta.

Since the army detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and overthrew her government on February 1, the new regime has detained hundreds of people to quell a growing campaign of civil disobedience against the coup.

In response, Myanmar communities have formed neighborhood watch brigades to prevent overnight arrests. “Of course we are afraid because they are armed … but we will continue our surveillance every night,” said Myo Ko Ko, who has been helping to police the streets in Yangon. AFP. “We cannot allow anyone to be taken.”

Many are also nervous about the rumors that proliferate on social media that recently released prisoners are being sent into the community to wreak havoc.

The Myanmar junta released more than 23,000 prisoners last week.

While mass amnesties to empty the country’s crowded prison system are common on important local dates, some human rights groups suspect this release was to free up space for opponents of the military.

Images of armored vehicles around Myanmar’s major cities push fears into overdrive, as well as another internet shutdown in the early hours of Monday. Over the past few nights, Myo Ko Ko has helped put up barricades on the roads leading to her community, where neighbors announce the arrival of strangers by banging on pots and pans.

The practice was initially a staple of nighttime protests that began in the days after the coup and traditionally symbolizes the expulsion of evil spirits, but now signals a call to protect the streets.

“We chased after a suspicious guy and caught him, but when we questioned him, we got nothing concrete except that he came out of a prison,” said Myo Ko Ko, 39, adding that the man in question was later turned over. to the police.

Fear and rumors

Rumors of nighttime riots in urban centers have spread on social media, along with anger at what some believe is a deliberate campaign of fear orchestrated by generals.

Crowds of people, some brandishing sticks, ran through part of Yangon in darkness on Saturday looking for suspected thugs. So far, the reports have been difficult to verify, but more neighborhoods are mobilizing to protect themselves against intruders.

“We have heard a lot of rumors and we have followed the news here and there,” said Ko Ko Naing, a shop owner in the west of the city, where residents gathered on the weekend to form a volunteer security team, bypassing by officials from closed municipal offices.

The 45-year-old man said his neighbors had also taken to the streets over the weekend looking for suspected vandals.

But tensions have risen in the days since, and the roar of kitchen utensils pounding has meant restless nights for some. “I couldn’t sleep well last night due to the many rumors in my neighborhood,” said taxi driver Tun Tun, before adding that he supported the watchdog groups.

“We want things to stay peaceful,” he said. “But we have no choice. We have to defend the good side.”