Ethnic Karen villagers protest against Myanmar coup

Karen villagers in southern Myanmar marched against the seizure of power by the military, on Friday, showing again how the civil disobedience movement has crossed ethnic lines and united people who are often deeply divided.

About a hundred people joined with teachers to demonstrate in the countryside in the Myintta Township, about 50km east of Dawei.

Myanmar is a patchwork of ethnic races.

Many of them have their own militias which have fought for decades against the army of the central government for greater autonomy in their home areas.

The Karen are the third largest ethnic group, after the Shan and the Burmans who are the biggest.

Protests in Yangon, last month, shortly after the coup, often featured different ethnic races marching together under their respective flags to show their solidarity against the junta.

Myanmar has been roiled by protests, strikes and other acts of civil disobedience since the coup toppled Suu Kyi’s government Feb. 1 just as it was to start its second term.

The takeover reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian nation after five decades of military rule.