<p>Clanging cymbals and banging pots, Yangon residents unhappy with a putsch that ousted Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi have begun kicking up a nightly fracas to chase out "evil spirits" -- in this case, the military.</p>.<p>Suu Kyi and other top civilian leaders were detained in dawn raids on Monday.</p>.<p>The lightning coup brought a country on the path to democracy to a shuddering halt, returning the reins of power to the military who ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for nearly five decades.</p>.<p>The presence of soldiers, acute fears over Suu Kyi's safety in detention and concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have so far kept a lid on any mass demonstrations since the takeover.</p>.<p>But residents in the commercial capital of Yangon are resorting to an old tradition to express their displeasure -- making as much noise as possible.</p>.<p>For the last two nights in a row, Yangonnites have stood on the streets at 8:00 pm to bang pots and pans, whack discarded cardboard boxes and clash cymbals for an hour. Those in their cars at the time honk their horns relentlessly.</p>.<p>"We used to do it to drive evil out of the village or out of the house," said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, an activist who is one of the organisers behind a so-called Civil Disobedience Movement opposing the coup.</p>.<p>"People are using this tactic to drive the military junta out of the country."</p>.<p>Similar scenes were witnessed during previous periods of protest in 1988 and 2007, both of which were suppressed with lethal force.</p>.<p>On Wednesday night, the cacophony also gave way to an old revolution song, "Kabar Ma Kyay Bu" -- "We Won't Forget Until the End of the World".</p>.<p>Popularised during the 1988 uprising -- which saw thousands of protesters gunned down on the streets -- it is an emotional appeal for freedom set to the tune of "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas.</p>.<p>"History is written with our blood... to those who lose their lives on the battle for democracy," sang residents from their balconies in Yangon's Pazundaung Township.</p>.<p>A man waved a red National League for Democracy flag in front of his storefront as cars drove by beeping their horns, while others flashed a three-finger salute -- a gesture borrowed from pro-democracy movements in Thailand and Hong Kong.</p>.<p>"I want all the generations of (the military's) families to suffer the grief we are suffering -- we won't forget until the end of the world," said 28-year-old Meme Win Maw in Sanchaung township, referencing the song's title.</p>.<p>Chants of "long live Mother Suu" rang out across Yangon's myriad townships -- but by 9:00 pm, all that could be heard was the sound of traffic.</p>.<p>"Banging the pots and pans slows my anger," Min Theint Oo, a 50-year-old in Tharkayta Township who lived through the previous junta regime, told AFP.</p>.<p>"But it only lasts a moment."</p>
<p>Clanging cymbals and banging pots, Yangon residents unhappy with a putsch that ousted Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi have begun kicking up a nightly fracas to chase out "evil spirits" -- in this case, the military.</p>.<p>Suu Kyi and other top civilian leaders were detained in dawn raids on Monday.</p>.<p>The lightning coup brought a country on the path to democracy to a shuddering halt, returning the reins of power to the military who ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for nearly five decades.</p>.<p>The presence of soldiers, acute fears over Suu Kyi's safety in detention and concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have so far kept a lid on any mass demonstrations since the takeover.</p>.<p>But residents in the commercial capital of Yangon are resorting to an old tradition to express their displeasure -- making as much noise as possible.</p>.<p>For the last two nights in a row, Yangonnites have stood on the streets at 8:00 pm to bang pots and pans, whack discarded cardboard boxes and clash cymbals for an hour. Those in their cars at the time honk their horns relentlessly.</p>.<p>"We used to do it to drive evil out of the village or out of the house," said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, an activist who is one of the organisers behind a so-called Civil Disobedience Movement opposing the coup.</p>.<p>"People are using this tactic to drive the military junta out of the country."</p>.<p>Similar scenes were witnessed during previous periods of protest in 1988 and 2007, both of which were suppressed with lethal force.</p>.<p>On Wednesday night, the cacophony also gave way to an old revolution song, "Kabar Ma Kyay Bu" -- "We Won't Forget Until the End of the World".</p>.<p>Popularised during the 1988 uprising -- which saw thousands of protesters gunned down on the streets -- it is an emotional appeal for freedom set to the tune of "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas.</p>.<p>"History is written with our blood... to those who lose their lives on the battle for democracy," sang residents from their balconies in Yangon's Pazundaung Township.</p>.<p>A man waved a red National League for Democracy flag in front of his storefront as cars drove by beeping their horns, while others flashed a three-finger salute -- a gesture borrowed from pro-democracy movements in Thailand and Hong Kong.</p>.<p>"I want all the generations of (the military's) families to suffer the grief we are suffering -- we won't forget until the end of the world," said 28-year-old Meme Win Maw in Sanchaung township, referencing the song's title.</p>.<p>Chants of "long live Mother Suu" rang out across Yangon's myriad townships -- but by 9:00 pm, all that could be heard was the sound of traffic.</p>.<p>"Banging the pots and pans slows my anger," Min Theint Oo, a 50-year-old in Tharkayta Township who lived through the previous junta regime, told AFP.</p>.<p>"But it only lasts a moment."</p>