A large group of Fort Wayne’s Burmese community joined together today to protest the military coup in Myanmar, formerly Burma, that took place earlier this week.

The group lined up along the sidewalk in front of the Allen County Courthouse Green, waving the flags of Myanmar and the National League for Democracy, or NLD, and holding signs in support of Aung San Suu Kyi. Organizers handed out red masks with the NLD’s iconography on them.

The military has claimed election fraud in Myanmar’s November election and detained Suu Kyi on Monday. Since then, Suu Kyi has encouraged her supporters to protest the coup.

Read More (from 2014): Ball State helps Burmese former political prisoners with Myanmar’s first modern political science school

Minn Nantin is one of the organizers for the demonstration in Fort Wayne. She said this is the first step in getting the military to hear the voices of the Burmese community around the world.

“We will continue to raise our voice until they release all our leaders and restore democracy in Burma.”

In the next step, community leaders have drafted letters to be sent to federal representatives in the House and Senate, including Senator Todd Young and 3rd District Congressman Jim Banks (R-Columbia City).