More than 100 activists and members of different civil society organizations protested in front of Yangon’s City Hall this weekend to demand an end to fighting in northern Myanmar
The clashes between the military ethnic armed fighters in Kachin and Shan state have occurred on and off since 2011, when a ceasefire broke down, displacing more than 100,000 people.
But the reported death of a toddler in the recent clashes has sparked widespread outrage.
According to local media, the child was one year and nine months old and was called in Mone Koe township in Shan state. Two other children were also reportedly injured.
“The public is now doing what they need to do for this. If fighting is not stopping, we need to make a bigger movement. Over a thousand people demanded the same thing a few days ago in Kachin State,” said activist Thet Swe Win, referring to anti-war rallies in the northernmost state about a week ago. “We also should do this in other cities.”
In Yangon on Saturday, there were performances, poems and a photo exhibition about the civil war. Attendees carried anti-war signs as well.
The protest came a day after Kachin fighter Aung La Nsang, aka ‘The Burmese Python,’ called on the crowd at his mixed martial arts fight to pay attention to the civil war in his home state.
The 31-year-old, who was born in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin state, but lives in the US, defeated his Polish opponent, Michal Pasternak, before a legion of adoring fans at the ONE Championship battle at Thuwanna Stadium.
