In Myanmar, teachers and students have staged protests against the military coup and the detention of senior so called democratic leaders, including Aung San  Suu Kyi. According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of teachers and students gathered in front of campus buildings at the Yangon University of Education on Friday.

Lecturer Nwe Thazin Hlaing said, “We don’t want this military coup which unlawfully seized power from our elected government.”

Al Jazeera reports a similar protest having taken place at Dagon University in Yangon.

Protestors have generally not taken to the streets given Myanmars bloody history of crackdowns on protests. However, dozens of youths marched  in the southeastern city of Dawei on Friday. Meanwhile, diaspora groups have organized protests in Thailand, India, Indonesia and South Korea.

Win Htein, of Suu Kyi’s right-hand man was arrested early on Friday, in Mandalay, along with at least 30 other people over Thursday’s pot-banging protests. Defying the military, roughly 70 members of Parliament of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) convened a symbolic Parliament in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Thursday. The military seized power on Monday, detaining Suu Kyi and President  Win Myint. 75-year-old, Suu Kyi, has not been seen since her arrest on Monday.

Myanmars military, which had ruled the country for decades before its short stint at so called democracy, claimed the November parliamentary elections, was rigged.  Al Jazeera reports that the electoral body has also rejected military claims.

Umm Muhammed Umar