Myanmar city denounces coup with car horns and kitchenware

A cacophony of the striking of pans and honking of vehicle horns was heard around Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon on Tuesday, in one of the biggest signs of public action to reject a military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.

Social media users showed livestreams and posted videos of themselves and other residents on balconies of apartments repeatedly bashing cookware, some shouting anti-coup slogans, as the hashtag #voiceoutfordemocracy gained traction.

Car horns were sounded after dark as drivers rallied behind calls for civil disobedience campaigns.

“To show support for Myanmar’s democracy, from our homes, make the loudest noise possible by drumming up anything you can find (pots and pans!) and scream our hearts out,” posted one Facebook user.

Other users said they sang the national anthem or cried when hearing the horns and crashing metal.

San Tint, who streamed some scenes on Facebook Live, told Reuters the aim was to repel evil.

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On Facebook, the main social media platform in the country, some users changed their profile pictures to images of Suu Kyi, or called for boycotts of products from firms linked to the military’s business.

Medics threatened to stop work, even as a coronavirus epidemic rages.

Suu Kyi had called on the public to reject the coup, according to her party, which won a November election in a landslide.

The ruling military on Tuesday warned against statements by media and the public and a spreading of rumours on social media to incite rioting and cause instability.