Efforts to Reclaim Manawrammar Site as Public Square for Protests

It has been reported from the Mandalay Region Parliament that efforts will be made to allow the Manawrammar site, which was used as a public square for protests, to be utilized again. During the second regular session of the third Mandalay Region Parliament, on June 11th, U Thein Lwin, the regional representative for Pyi Gyi Tagun Township Constituency No. 1, asked, "Is there a plan to provide a place for the public to freely express their protests? " "During the first Mandalay Region Parliament from 2010-2015, I also submitted a proposal to provide a place for the public to freely express their protests. Consequently, a vacant plot of land near the Manawrammar playground, located between 62nd, 39th, and 43rd streets in Maha Aung Myay Township, was designated as a public square (or public plaza, or public protest site) and permission for its use was granted. Subsequently, during the second term of the Regional Parliament from 2015-2020, it continued to be permitted for use as a public protest site. However, after the political conflicts that arose in 2021, that location was changed to the Manawrammar night market. As the standard of democracy includes the freedom to vote in elections and the freedom to protest legally when differences of opinion arise, I would like to know if there are plans to re-designate a place for the public to protest," he asked. In response to the question, Major General Ne Lin Soe, the Minister for Security and Border Affairs, replied that they would submit a proposal to the regional government to allow the use of the area near the Manawrammar night market, which was previously permitted for protests, from morning until 3 PM.