US Embassy to Myanmar army junta-, restore elected govt

About 2,000 protesters rallied against the military takeover in Myanmar's biggest city on Sunday and demanded the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose elected government was toppled by the army that also imposed an internet blackout. The protesters held placards calling for freedom for Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who were put under house arrest and charged with minor offenses, seen by many as providing a legal veneer for their detention.

Meanwhile, in a major development, the US Embassy called on the military to give up power and restore the democratically elected government, release those detained, lift all telecommunications restrictions, and refrain from violence.“We support the right of the people of Myanmar to protest in support of the democratically elected government and their right to freely access information,” it said in a tweet. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged the United Nations will do everything it can to unite the international community and create conditions for the military coup in Myanmar to be reversed.

According to reports , Sunday's rally came a day after about 1,000 people — factory workers and students prominent among them — marched down a main street in Yangon. They were met by more than 100 riot police. There was no violence reported. Similar-sized demonstrations took place in at least two other areas of Yangon as well as in Mandalay, the second-largest city.