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Myanmar’s junta detained women for wearing flowers and ordered flower sellers to shut down their businesses as resistance forces called for a nationwide flower strike to mark the 78th birthday of imprisoned civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday.
The ousted civilian leader was arrested by the regime on the first day of the coup in February 2021 and is currently being held in Naypyitaw prison.
She has been sentenced by a military council court to a total of 33 years in prison in 19 cases.
On Monday, Myanmar people at home and abroad marked her birthday with flower strikes. They wore flowers to show their support for a leader known for wearing flowers.
In response, the regime detained about 40 women for wearing flowers in the central market of Sagaing Region’s Kale Town on Monday. Regime troops also threatened flower sellers in Yangon’s Hlaing Thar Yar and Kamayut townships to force them to stop selling.
Still, protests were held against the regime to mark Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday and to pray for her speedy release. Resistance fighters held ceremonies in their jungle camps to honor their cherished leader, including in areas controlled by ethnic armed organizations. They served cakes, made offerings and either wore or held flowers to show solidarity with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The People’s Defense Forces in Mandalay, Sagaing, Magwe and Tanintharyi regions held flower strikes to mark her birthday.
Some ethnic armed forces also posted birthday wishes for the detained leader on social media.
A Chin Defense Force commander said he wished Daw Aung San Suu Kyi could be freed as soon as possible. “She had paid and sacrificed her entire life for what she believed in. As a human being, it is sad. I respect her,” the commander told the Irrawaddy.
A member of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force in Kayah State simply wished: “May Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be healthy and free from detention.”
Urban guerrilla groups in Yangon, Monywa, Mandalay and Dawei held protests and hung banners on Monday.
Daring members of the Yangon Revolution Force’s Soft Strike Community hung a banner reading “We Miss You” from an overpass in Yangon on Monday amid tight security.
Outside of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters gathered for events in the United States, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands and France.
Kim Aris, the younger of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s two sons, appealed for the release of his mother and all political prisoners in Myanmar. He called on the junta to commit to a ceasefire while opening negotiations to hand power back to the democratically elected government.
“I hope that by this time next year, I will meet my mom to wish her a happy birthday in person,” Kim Aris said in a message shared on his mother’s 78th birthday.
