February 1 (Reuters) – A “silent strike” was held in major cities across Burma on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the February 1, 2021 military coup.

The army accused the National League for Democracy (NLD) of rigging the November 2020 general election and ousted the government of democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi two years ago.

The coup plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos, and security forces’ bloody crackdown on major protests prompted Western countries to impose new sanctions on Burma.

The military junta is expected to issue a statement later in the day in which it could announce the extension of the state of emergency.

This measure, decreed after the military coup, was supposed to last a year but has since been extended twice.

The state of emergency is normally scheduled to end on Wednesday. The Burmese constitution allows two more extensions.

SILENT PROTESTS

Images circulating on social networks showed the streets of Yangon or Mandalay, the country’s main cities, deserted, a silent demonstration against the junta, according to opponents.

In Thailand, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok. Activists also staged protests in Manila, Philippines.

“We are the people, we hold the future,” chanted the demonstrators gathered in Bangkok. “The revolution must triumph.”

Several western countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada imposed new sanctions on Burma on Tuesday.

For his part, Secretary General of the Office of the Japanese Prime Minister, Hirokazu Matsuno, called on the junta to restore democracy. Before the coup, Japan was one of Burma’s top donors and investors.

The Burmese junta has pledged to organize elections next August. Myanmar’s official media recently announced that parties would have to meet strict requirements to compete, which observers say could empower the military and increase its influence on politics by edging out its opponents. (Reuters editorial coverage, written by Ed Davies; French version Camille Raynaud)