Keywords

All Credits to The Myanmar Project Collective/Visual Rebellion MyanmarFootnote 1

Introduction

Early morning on February 1st, 2021, tanks rolled into Yangon and soldiers from the Tatmadaw—the Burmese army—arrested State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint at their official residences in the capital Nay Pyi Daw. Other senior members and local politicians associated with the National League for Democracy (NLD) were also detained. Myanmar’s new parliament was set to meet for its first session, two months after the ruling party had won the November 2020 elections in a landslide. But the session never started.

Internet connections and telecommunications were cut nationwide and at 8 am, an army spokesman announced on military-owned TV station MWD, that the junta led by general Min Aung Hlaing was taking control of the country under the pretext of investigating alleged electoral fraud by the NLD.

The vast majority of citizens, who had experienced a taste of freedom, democracy and liberalization for the past decade, could not accept the return of military rule. Teachers, doctors, bank managers, students and engineers joined the newly formed Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and refused to work under the new Special Administrative Council (SAC) regime. The first group of protesters emerged in Mandalay on February 4th, led by U Tay Zar San, a prominent civil society leader. On February 5th, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group of National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmakers and members of parliament ousted in the coup d’état, formed a government in exile, the National Unity Government (NUG), in cooperation with several ethnic minority political groups.

In the following days, protests spread across the entire country and tens of thousands of people started demonstrating in the streets, on dirt paths, in fields and on rivers. They held anti-coup billboards, flashed the “three-finger salute”—an anti-authoritarianism sign popularized by the movie Hunger Games and by protests in Hong Kong and Thailand—and Generation Z youths organized creative street events and online campaigns to attract the world’s attention to their plight.

As an echo of the so-called “Saffron Revolution” in 2007, some monks joined the civilians in the processions and refused to accept the alms of officials affiliated with the junta, a silent, powerful act in the Buddhist majority country. Muslim and Christian local communities expressed their fear and anger as the brutal end of Myanmar’s fragile rule of law made them even more vulnerable to state abuse.

For the first time, people from the cities and plains of the Bamar Buddhist ethnic majority heartland held messages in solidarity with the Rohingya community, which has been targeted by a genocidal campaign in Rakhine state from August 2016 onwards. Before the coup, most of the public in Myanmar was unsympathetic to their plight, activists and journalists reporting on the issues faced vitriolic abuse and even using the word “Rohingya” in public speech or writing was taboo. With the junta's takeover on one dark February morning, came the brutal awareness that no one will ever be safe in Myanmar as long as generals remain the main powers-that-be and that the army is not fully controlled by a civilian government.

As the authoritarianism and conservatism of senior men in green are fully back in power in Myanmar, women are determined to continue to speak up for their rights, as they started building a feminist movement in the mid-2010s. When anti-coup mass demonstrations began, protesters hung traditional sarongs, underwear and even sanitary pads on strings across the streets to scare off and slow down the crackdown by security forces. Most of Myanmar's soldiers and policemen subscribe to the patriarchal Burmese superstition that passing under pieces covering women’s parts will make them lose their male power (“Hpone”), and thus, lose protection in battle.

Every evening, families gathered on their balconies and in front of their houses to bang on pots and pans, to symbolically draw the evil of dictatorship out of Myanmar. The junta imposed a curfew and began to create instability to justify its power grab. Hundreds of ordinary criminals were released from prison, given weapons and dropped by military trucks at night to instigate violence in neighborhoods. Citizens built camps and organized night watches to protect their properties and communities from raids by thugs-for-hire and soldiers. The junta quickly reenacted the Guest Registration Requirement and Household Inspection Laws, in violation of the fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of movement and association.

As the revolutionary crowds grew in late February, the repression increased drastically. Twenty-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, who died from a gunshot to the head, is the first known victim of the anti-coup protest movement. After she was assassinated, policemen and soldiers attacked the public with tear gas, rubber bullets, sound grenades and live rounds. On February 22nd, 2021, dubbed the 22,222 Movement Day and marked by a nationwide general strike and massive uprising, nearly 200 protestors were arrested in Nay Pyi Daw and Pyinmana. Others were told to report to authorities. The following day, families were ordered to retrieve their bodies, which showed marks of torture.

Arrest warrants were issued against journalists, actors or “keyboard fighters”—activists on social media—who were mostly charged under Section 505 (a). This new provision was used to punish netizens for commenting on the illegitimacy of the coup or the military government and was designed to penalize those who encouraged members of the civil and security services to join the CDM by up to three years in prison. Hundreds of civilians were arrested following tips from “Dalans”, local pro-military informers.

Despite daily arrests and killings, protesters occupied the streets for another month by building barricades of metal fences, bricks, straw mattresses and bamboo poles. Frontline guards equipped with makeshift protection gear took it on themselves to try to protect demonstrators against the rifles and tanks of the soldiers. On March 5th, 2021, the NUG announced the formation of the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and proclaimed the right of every civilian to self-defense. Thousands of youths went for training and joined urban guerilla groups or armed ethnic militias.

On the ground, the legacy of seven decades of civil war against the central government in the ethnic states as well as the limited control of territory and access to equipment by the NUG is the main obstacle to the coordination of decisive operations against the monolithic Burmese army. Fed with ethno-nationalist ideology and obsessed with the disintegration of the nation, the Burmese army succeeded though in finally uniting the country, but against itself, and is now referred to as “Bon Yan Thu” (“the common enemy”).

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, by February 1st, 2024, three years after the coup, more than 4500 people had been killed by the junta forces and more than 20,000 people were still detained. More than three million people are internally displaced and hundreds of thousands have escaped to neighboring countries.

Inside Myanmar and abroad, networks and communities of teachers, doctors, gamers, filmmakers, lawyers, pastors, students or farmers continue to strike, document, fundraise, advocate and organize toward a common objective, which is the establishment of a federal democratic Myanmar.

Visual Rebellion Myanmar is a media collective founded in the aftermath of the coup by young Burmese journalists to continue offering free public service information about #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar. They documented the first three months of street protests across Myanmar by communities from diverse social, religious and economic backgrounds, who attempted to resist military rule peacefully before the country entered the stage of full-blown conflict that is yet to be resolved. Here is a selection of their work.

Photo-Series

1. Spidermen

A photograph taken from inside a car through an open window. A group of young protestors are seated on the side of a road. They wear masks and caps. There are 2 protestors in cosplays of superheroes. They have placards with text Save Myanmar, Justice for Myanmar, Say no to dictatorship.

09/02/2021—In downtown Yangon, young protesters wear cosplay outfits to attract the attention of international media as well as to remain anonymous.

2. Firemen

A photograph of uniformed group of people wearing baseball caps. They stand in rows with their right arms above with 3 fingers held out.

09/02/2021—In Pyay, Bago region, members of the Civilian Fire Reserve Brigade join the CDM from the start of the protests.

3. Nurses

A photograph of a medical staff including doctors and nurses. They stand in a row with their right hands up and 3 fingers out. They have placards with text in a foreign language.

09/02/2021—In Pyay, Bago Region, medical staff at a public hospital flash the three-finger salute to support the protest march.

4. Monk

A photograph of a monk with men around him, walking. There is a banner in the background with text in a foreign language. The monk holds an alms-bowl bottom up.

10/02/2021—In Monywa, Sagaing region, a monk holds an alms bowl bottom-up, a powerful symbol in Myanmar, meaning that a strike won’t be called off until its aim is reached.

5. Chefs

A photograph of chefs participating in a rally with text written on pans. They are in their full uniforms. They wear masks.

11/02/2021—In Thandwe, a tourist seaside town in Rakhine State, the Cooking Chef Association comes out to protest in working clothes.

6. China

A photograph of people participating in a rally in traditional Chinese attires. One of the placard reads Why we have military coup? CHINA is the answer!

14/02/2021—In Muse, a city bordering China in Shan State, protesters incriminate the Chinese Communist Party’s perceived support for the coup-making junta.

CONTEXT: [The sign in Mandarin reads “Kai Feng Fu”, a historical reference to the capital of the Song Dynasty. The man in the black suit with the crescent marked on his forehead cosplayed the Governor of Kai Feng, Bao Zheng, well-known for his integrity. He was posthumously promoted as a popular metonymy for Justice and elevated to the status of a folk God.]

7. Karenni

A photograph of women from Kayaw ethnic group walking in a rally. They are in their traditional attires. They raise their right arms with 3-fingers held up.

21/02/2021—In Phruso, Kayah state, women from the Kayaw ethnic group take part in the anti-coup protest.

8. Muslim

A photograph of a group of people walking in a rally. They wear hats and masks. They have banners with text in a foreign language.

22/02/2021—In Shwedaung, Bago Region, the “Myanmar Muslim Association” joins the daily anti-coup protest march.

9. Oil Workers

A photograph of uniformed union members. They hoist the flag of Myanmar and carry banners. The text is in a foreign language.

22/02/2021—Union members working at the “Pyay Petroleum” oil fields takes part in the general strike in all sectors of the economy.

10. Performance

A photograph of an enactment during a protest. In the background a few people stand holding banners with text get out dictator, where others give the three-finger salute. The foreground has the stage, where a woman tied with rope kneels and a person in a black attire points a gun over her head.

23/02/2021—In downtown Yangon, pro-democracy activists stage a performance to denounce the pressure by the military regime on CDM teachers to resume work at gunpoint.

11. Teachers

A photograph of teachers seated in rows in front of a building. They wear traditional hats with the illustration of the 3 finger salute on them and text in a foreign language. There are multiple flags of Myanmar in the front.

22/02/2021—Teachers wearing traditional hats and engaged in the CDM, protest in front of the Shwe Taung Township Education Office.

12. Shan

A photograph of a group of people hoisting the flags of Myanmar. They hold a large banner with text that reads self-determination.

24/02/2021—In Lashio, Shan state, protesters from the Ta'ang, Kachin and Shan ethnic groups call for self-determination.

13. Students

A photograph of protestors standing on a beach. They wear similar T-shirts with text in a foreign language at the center. They hold posters with the text overthrown.

25/02/2021—On Ngapali Beach in Rakhine state, students wearing a T-Shirt with the message “Spring Revolution” call for UN intervention.

14. LGBT+

A photograph of rally by L G B T Q + community. An individual walks with right arm up with a 3 finger salute, wearing a pair of wings with text on it. There are placards carried by people with the text free Aung San Suu Kyi.

04/03/2021—In Shwedaung, Bago region, the LGBT+ community take to the streets to express support for the ousted NLD government.

15. PDF

A photograph of people defense forces outside Salin Police Station. The people stand behind a barricade formed of drums with the text people. People wear helmets and masks.

04/03/2021—In Salin, Magway region, “People Defense Forces” stand in front of the police station to request the release of protesters.

16. Barricades

A photograph of protestors with helmets and shields. One of the protestor carries a Captain America shield.

15/03/2021—In Monywa, Sagaing Region, people have erected barricades with sandbags to prevent army and police vehicles from entering the town.

17. Captain America

A photograph of a sandbag barricade. The young protestors jump over them.

17/03/2021—In Kyauk Myaung, Yangon, a protester cosplaying Captain America tries to protect himself against tear gas and live bullets.

18. Bicycle

A photograph of a group of women riding bicycles as protest. The cycle baskets have hand written posters.

01/04/2021—In Monywa, Sagaing region, women protest on bicycles as state repression has made it too risky to walk.

19. Food Donation

A photograph of people standing in lines for food. The volunteers stand of one side.

10/04/2021—A food donation in Thuwanna, Yangon by volunteers as prices for basic goods have sharply increased since the coup-induced economic collapse.

20. Sexual Assault

A photograph of dolls dressed in white with spots of blood, blindfolded, and tied arms. There is a poster that reads stop sexual harassment.

24/04/2021—A memorial in Pyay, Bago region, in honor of young female protesters who were sexually assaulted by soldiers in a Yangon interrogation center.