The doctors ’dawn march begins Sunday’s protests in Myanmar

MANDALAJ, Myanmar – A peaceful march at dawn on Sunday by medical workers in Myanmar’s second-largest city began another day of protests in the country against last month’s coup. Security forces shot at least one person at the rally elsewhere.

As public protests became increasingly dangerous, protesters against the coup in Mandalay acted early to reduce the risk of clashes with security forces.

The Independent Association for Aid to Political Prisoners has confirmed 247 nationwide deaths related to post-coup actions. The actual total, including cases where verification was difficult, is likely to be much higher, it is said.

It also confirmed that 2,345 people had been arrested or charged, while 1,994 were still in custody or wanted.

About 100 doctors, nurses, medical students and pharmacists, dressed in long white coats, lined the main road in Mandalay to chant slogans and declare their opposition to the February 1 coup that toppled the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The takeover of the military reversed the slow progress towards democracy that began when the National League for Democracy party Suu Kyi won the 2015 elections after five decades of military rule.

Mandalay was the main center of opposition to the takeover. But in recent weeks, the number of protesters has dropped due to the deadly use of force by police and soldiers firing ammunition into the crowd.

Engineers in Mandalay on Sunday held what has been called a “strike without people,” an increasingly popular tactic involving placing signs on streets or other public areas as substitutes for human protesters.

Although security forces unhinderedly destroyed Mandalay’s early morning march, at least one protester was shot dead in Monywa, another city in central Myanmar, according to online news Myanmar Now and numerous social media posts.

Myanmar Now, citing a doctor from Monywa, identified the victim Min Min Zaw, who was shot in the head while helping to put up barricades for Sunday’s protest.

Practically all the dead from the coup shoot at the victims, and in many cases bullets in the head.

The cause of the resistance over the weekend received support for demonstrations in several places abroad, including Tokyo, Taipei in Taiwan and Times Square in New York.