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Undeterred by a nationwide internet blackout, thousands in Myanmar took to the streets to protest the military coup over the weekend.

On Saturday (Feb. 6), tens of thousands of protestors were out in force in cities across the South East Asian nation.

This continued on Sunday (Feb. 7), as thousands of people marched for a second day in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city.

CNA via AFP reported that it was the largest demonstration since elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest.

Protestors flashed three-fingered salutes — inspired by the Hunger Games films — blared car horns, carried banners, and waved red flags which were a signature of Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy (NLD) party.

The protests continued on Sunday (Feb. 7), as residents in Yangon started the day with pot-banging — a practice traditionally associated with driving out evil spirits — before marching on the streets, according to CNA.

While the military have deployed riot police and water cannons, violence has yet to break out among the demonstrations.

Blocking access to the internet

Since the beginning of the coup, Myanmar's military has been tried to stymie demonstrations by blocking access to the internet and social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In a letter, Myanmar's Ministry of Transport and Communications instructed all telecommunications companies in the country to make Facebook's services unavailable until Feb. 7 to maintain "stability", reported Bloomberg.

The ministry cited the dissemination of "fake news" as causing "misunderstanding among people".

According to CNA, Facebook is arguably the country's main mode of communication.

Despite the blockade, livestreams of the protests have emerged online and protestors have continued to organise themselves.

Oppressive military government

The BBC reported that Myanmar was previously ruled by an oppressive military government from 1962 to 2011.

After years of campaigning for democratic reforms, and a previous stint of house arrest, Suu Kyi came to power after free elections in 2015.

While the military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims has somewhat tainted her international image, Suu Kyi remained immensely popular in Myanmar as demonstrated by the NLD's landslide election victory in November.

Top image by YE AUNG THU/AFP via Getty Images

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