Irrawaddy/AFP-Apr 13
Myanmar marked its normally boisterous new year water festival with silence and boycotts on Wednesday, as fighting between the military and opponents of the coup raged across the country. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government last year, sparking huge protests and a bloody crackdown. The Thingyan water festival — part of a cleansing ritual to welcome in the Buddhist new year — is typically marked by jubilant pandemonium as crowds engage in large-scale street water fights. But thoroughfares in central Yangon were quiet on Wednesday, with no sign of the usually disruptive festivities. There was a heavy security presence leading to Yangon’s Sule Pagoda, with barricades barring the way to a stage where celebrities performed traditional songs and choreographed dancers swayed as part of a junta-sponsored program. State TV footage also showed singers and musicians performing traditional Thingyan songs in Myanmar’s second largest city of Mandalay. But there, too, the mood was somber as the military continues its crackdown on dissent. Meanwhile, local media images showed small anti-junta protests from across the country, with some activists holding banners calling for a boycott of festivities.As junta-sponsored celebrations took place, fighting between the military and opponents of the coup was reported across Myanmar. Read more at:
