YANGON, Myanmar (AP) Fans in Myanmar of soccer teams from England’s Premier League have banded together to join the popular movement protesting the country’s recent military takeover.
“Even though we’re rivals, we now show the world that we are holding hands with each other for our country,” soccer fan Aung Thu Htun said Saturday.
Several senior players from Myanmar’s national team similarly cast their lots with the protesters, announcing that they will not represent the country under the military government, which has ruled the country since the Feb. 1 coup. Tens of thousands of people, and possibly more, began a second week of protests around the country on Saturday, despite a ban on gatherings of five or more people and the use of rubber bullets and water cannons to break up several previous demonstrations.