Flower protests in Myanmar for Suu Kyi’s 76th birthday
Supporters of Myanmar's detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi wore flowers in their hair and paraded with them at street demonstrations yesterday as she marked her 76th birthday locked up by the generals who overthrew her.
Protests have been held almost daily in Myanmar since Suu Kyi was ousted in a Feb. 1 coup that cut short a decade of democratic reforms and also sparked paralysing strikes and renewed conflict in the Southeast Asian country.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday called for a stop to the flow of arms to Myanmar and urged the military to respect November election results and release political detainees, including Suu Kyi.
For decades a symbol of the fight for democracy under previous juntas, she often wore flowers in her hair.
Among those wearing flowers on Saturday was activist Thet Swe Win, who had been at odds with Suu Kyi over human rights violations during her own time in office.
"I demand freedom for all the people including Aung San Suu Kyi," he said "Her individual rights and political rights are being violated."
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