[ Even picking up onions and tying shoelaces have become anti-coup
activities] [[link removed]]

MYANMAR’S ‘CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT’ HAS PRODUCED MANY
INVENTIVE WAYS OF PROTESTING  
[[link removed]]


 

Global Voices South East Asia
February 24, 2021
Global Voices
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ Even picking up onions and tying shoelaces have become anti-coup
activities _

Protesters in Myanmar display huge banners with messages rejecting
the military government., Photo supplied to Global Voices by a citizen
journalist.

 

Myanmar’s military authorities have banned public assemblies but
this has only encouraged protesters to devise new ways of expressing
opposition to the coup.

After the military grabbed power on February 1, a civil disobedience
movement was launched
[[link removed]] which
encouraged the public to stop going to work, boycott businesses owned
by generals, and join anti-coup protests.

Medical health workers were among the first to support the civil
disobedience movement
[[link removed]] by
resigning from their posts. Many continued to work at hospitals but
they wore red ribbons as a sign of protest against the military
government.

This was followed by community protests
[[link removed]] which
featured the banging of pots and pans to create noise and symbolically
cast away evil spirits. A resident explained the popularity of this
form of protest:

Banging pots and pans has continued until today, and it lasts about 15
minutes from 8:00 pm to 8:15 pm. Though this mode of campaign may seem
insignificant, it ensures that all citizens can participate and
express their voices peacefully and safely without having to leave
their houses.

HOW PROTESTERS ARE CREATIVELY BLOCKING ROADS

Many have observed the active participation of civil servants such as
teachers, health workers and forestry officers in protests across
Myanmar. Protesters have used ingenious methods to stop traffic
[[link removed]] and prevent
government personnel from reporting for work. Kyaw Zwa Moe, editor of
the English edition of The Irrawaddy, writes
[[link removed]] about
this:

At the Myaynigone intersection, just a few miles from Sule, protesters
helped pick up onions and gains of rice from the asphalt road, where
someone had “dropped” them. Dozens of protesters picked up each
onion and grain of rice, one at a time, while police watched over
them. The purpose was to stop the traffic—as they had during the
“car breakdown protest” and the “slow-motion drive protest” to
create traffic jams in support of the Civil Disobedience Movement
(CDM), which is aimed at preventing government staff from going to
work.

Even trishaws (three-wheeled vehicles) have been deployed in the
campaign:

Protesters also rode on boats:

A resident added more details about the “Onion Pick-up” campaign:

Basically, protesters intentionally drop onions in the middle of busy
roads, and everyone helps pick up the onions, and put them in the
(broken/bottomless) bags. This way, the police cannot claim that
protesters are illegally blocking the roads.

Slowing down traffic
[[link removed]] is
also done through the “Tying Shoelaces” campaign:

Street performances can also gather people and block traffic:

Artists and activists have joined forces in producing large anti-coup
banners and street graffiti:

REJECTING THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT

Protesters have also initiated actions aimed at undermining the
military-controlled bureaucracy. One of these is the “Lottery
boycott” campaign.

The incomes from lottery directly go into government funds just like
other taxes. So we stop buying lottery tickets to prevent our taxes
from going to the military.

The “anti-press conference” campaign is done by journalists
boycotting the press conferences organized by the military. Some
journalists from a local state media were forced to attend one of the
press conferences which led to their resignation.

The “curse campaigns” are done to name and shame generals,
especially Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. Related to this, the
“supernatural campaign” involves fortune-tellers and spiritual
leaders who cast spells on superstitious military generals.

The “Lets’ report pro-military Facebook pages” is an online
campaign that encourages Facebook users to report dubious pages
spreading misinformation in support of the coup.

Only three weeks have passed since the coup but protesters have
already used various creative methods to express dissent. Military
authorities have recently resorted to violence
[[link removed]] but
this has only encouraged more people to join the protests, as seen in
the February 22 general strike
[[link removed]],
which mobilized the biggest anti-coup protests across Myanmar.

_*With additional reporting from Global Voices’ Civic Media
Observatory [[link removed]] project_

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web [[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions [[link removed]]
Manage subscription [[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org [[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]