Myanmar is in the throes of a third day of protests since the military coup. Thousands of anti-coup protesters gathered in the country’s cities on Monday (February 8th). They say the nationwide movement is demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for nearly a week, and the removal of the military from state power.

According to the news agency Reuters, many have already joined the movement. That being said, anti-coup demonstrations are being organized on a larger scale. A group of Buddhist monks also joined the movement in Yangon, the largest city, on Monday. Hundreds of workers and students are also on vanguard with them.

Witnesses said protesters were flying red banners of the Suu Kyi National League for Democracy (NLD) and multi-colored Buddhist flags.

“Release our leaders, respect our vote, reject military coup” is the slogan of the protests in Myanmar. Many are also chanting the slogan ‘Save democracy and don’t say dictatorship’. Many of the protesters are again protesting in black.

Earlier in the day, the country witnessed its second-largest protest on Sunday. On this day, after the ‘Saffron Revolution’ led by Buddhist monks in 2006, the largest anti-coup protest rally was held. “Please come out of every corner of Yangon peacefully and join the people’s meeting,” the country’s activist I Thinzer Maang called on Facebook. At the same time, in the context of shutting down the social media network of the junta, he says, rallies should be held to avoid obstructions. He has requested to use VPN networks.

On the morning of February 1, the Myanmar army declared a state of emergency by detaining senior party leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Mint. Since then, Min Aung Laing, commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces and army chief, has been in power.