The army declares martial law in a number of Myanmar cities and threatens protesters

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The military authorities in Myanmar declared martial law on Monday, in a number of cities in the country, and the military for the first time hinted to take steps against the demonstrators who took hundreds of thousands to the streets to protest the coup that ousted Leader Aung San Sochi.

In his first statement, Army Chief Min Aung Hling on Monday evening denounced fraud during the legislative elections last November, in an attempt to justify the military coup.

We are investigating the authorities responsible for these irregularities, a spokesperson told the Miyawadi TV network, pledging to hold free and fair elections when the state of emergency imposed for a year is lifted and to establish a military regime different from the previous regime.

Myanmar has lived for nearly 50 years since its independence in 1948 under a military regime, and the February 1 coup put an end to a short democratic period.

Anger is increasing in the country, On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered, according to several estimates, in Yangon (the country's economic capital), with placards reading Free our leaders, Respect our voices and Reject the coup.

Demonstrations were also held in a large number of cities in the country, and a number of residents went out on bicycles with car horns, as happened in Tango, which is 300 kilometers north of Yangon, but the level of tension is high, and the police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators in the capital, Naypyidaw.

This wave of anger is unprecedented in Myanmar since the popular uprising of 2007, which was called the Saffron Revolution and was led by monks, and was violently suppressed by the army.

On February 1, the army ended a fragile democratic process, declared a year-long state of emergency, and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of her party.

Since then, more than 150 people have been arrested, including parliamentarians, local officials and activists, who are still in detention, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners.

Internet service and mobile data service have partially returned, but on Monday, access to Facebook, the means of communication used by millions of Myanmar residents, is still blocked.

Many circumvented the censorship using virtual private networks (VPNs) that allow changing restrictions related to the geographical location.

The recent events in Myanmar remain at the center of the international agenda, although no concrete move has yet been taken against the army chiefs.

A few days ago, the United Nations called for the release of all detainees, but was unable to officially condemn the coup in its joint declaration due to opposition from China and Russia, as part of their traditional support for the Myanmar army at the United Nations.

On the other hand, the European Union and the United States are threatening to impose sanctions. On Monday, Britain, the European Union and 19 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council called for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.

The British ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said that this request is a response to the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar and the arbitrary detention of democratically elected political officials and members of civil society.