The 75th anniversary of the assassination of Myanmar's independence hero and father of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was a muted affair Tuesday, with soldiers patrolling Yangon's streets and anti-junta demonstrators staging small protests in other parts of the country.

Known affectionately as "Bogyoke" (General), Aung San led Myanmar's battle for independence from Britain but was gunned down in July 1947, just months before his dream was finally realised.

His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi -- who was two at the time of his death -- became a democracy figurehead, Nobel laureate, and nemesis of the military.

Detained since the military's latest power grab in February last year, she is now battling a raft of charges in a junta court and could be jailed for more than 150 years if found guilty on all counts.

Martyrs' Day -- commemorating Aung San's killing -- normally sees hundreds queueing to pay their respects at the Secretariat, a sprawling colonial-era complex in downtown Yangon where local rivals shot dead the general and eight other prominent leaders.

But on Tuesday the roads were largely deserted, with soldiers on watch at the compound, some ordering passersby trying to take selfies near the buildings of red and yellow brick to move along.

Others patrolled in jeeps and extra roadblocks had been set up in the usually bustling district.

Across the country, demonstrators staged small protests against the junta, with local media reporting gatherings in southern Tanintharyi region, eastern Karen state and in the northern Sagaing region.

Meanwhile, state media footage showed junta number two Soe Win placing a wreath at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon -- another spot usually bustling with those wishing to pay their respects, but on Tuesday limited to invitees only.

No officials from western countries -- which have led international criticism of the junta's bloody crackdown on dissent -- were present at the event, according to a diplomatic source.

"They [the military] unlawfully arrested the daughter, but salute her father," read one comment posted on social media.

"Only shameless people would do this."

The otherwise muted commemorations were broken briefly by the traditional mass honking of car horns across the commercial hub at 10:37 am -- the time Aung San was killed.

Born in 1915 under British colonial rule, Aung San became leader of nationalist fighters in what was then Burma -- making him the founder of Myanmar's military.

He remains a deeply revered figure and a core factor behind his daughter's enduring popularity.

During her years of house arrest under the former junta, Suu Kyi was barred from commemorating the anniversary of his death.

Myanmar military landmine use amounts to war crimes: Amnesty
Bangkok (AFP) July 20, 2022 - Myanmar junta troops are committing war crimes by laying landmines on a "massive scale" around villages where they are battling anti-coup fighters, rights campaign group Amnesty International said Wednesday.

Fighting has ravaged swathes of the country since last year's putsch, which sparked renewed clashes with ethnic rebel groups and the formation of dozens of "People's Defence Forces" now battling the junta.

During a visit to Kayah state near the Thai border, Amnesty researchers interviewed landmine survivors, medical workers who had treated them and others involved in clearing operations, the organisation said.

It said it had "credible information" that the military had used mines in at least 20 villages, including on paths to rice fields, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.

Amnesty also said it had documented several instances where the military had laid mines around a church and on its grounds.

"Soldiers have placed landmines in people's yards, at the entrance of homes, and outside toilets," Amnesty said.

"In at least one documented case, soldiers booby-trapped a house stairwell with a trip-wire improvised explosive device."

Anti-junta group members were attempting to de-mine some areas, but the work was done "by hand with only rudimentary equipment and without any professional training," it added.

"We know from bitter experience that civilian deaths and injuries will mount over time, and the widespread contamination is already blocking people from returning to their homes and farmland," said Rawya Rageh, the group's senior crisis adviser.

Myanmar is not a signatory to the United Nations convention that prohibits the use, stockpiling or development of anti-personnel mines.

Its military has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and war crimes during decades of internal conflict.

Military violence against the Rohingya minority in 2017 sent an estimated 750,000 people fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh, bringing with them accounts of rape, murder and arson.

In March, the United States declared that the violence against the Rohingya amounted to genocide, saying there was clear evidence of an attempt to "destroy" them.

The Gambia dragged Myanmar before the International Court of Justice in 2019, accusing the predominantly Buddhist country of genocide against the Muslim minority.

The Hague-based court is due to give its judgment on Myanmar's preliminary objections to the case later this week.

Following the coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government, the military has waged a bloody crackdown on dissent that a local monitoring group says has killed more than 2,000 people and seen almost 15,000 arrested.

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