Myanmar's Military Coup
- Some perspective on privilege
„This coup has a silver lining. It made people realize how privileged they are.”
Privilege seems to be a word with many layers. How privileged someone is, strongly depends on the point of view. Since we’re suffering under a global pandemic the restrictions quickly led to complaints and spread discontent in the Western sphere. While there is no intend on understating these happenings, there is still the necessity to look around and open the eyes to our privilege. Currently, the people of Myanmar are still fighting in a battle that is comparable to the story of David and Goliath, waiting for a helping hand from the outside world.
On February 1st of 2021, the lives of the people in Myanmar were changed overnight. The military coup has turned the fast-developing country upside down and unleashed a chaos that had been simmering under the surface, waiting for years to erupt.
Myanmar has a history with the military that goes far back in time, and it has become apparent that history will never fail to repeat itself when certain powers are left unchecked. The military leaders are once more ignoring the collective Democratic voice of Myanmar’s people. They have seized power and converted the country’s already fragile Democracy back into a dictatorship. But one thing is different this time. The reaction of the people.
Instead of giving in to the incredibly oppressive regime and obeying out of fear, the people are out on the streets protesting for their lives. This time, they don’t show fear, despite the violent crackdowns and brutal actions of the military. What started as peaceful demonstrations quickly turned into a fight of survival. This time feels different, and their voices are hard to ignore.
Tatmadaw, the Myanmar military, staged a coup this year on February 1st , and had detained leaders of the National League for Democracy. The NLD is the democratic party that had been leading Myanmar since 2015 and won the mass majority of votes during the election on November 8th, 2020.
The military declared election fraud and seized power by staging this coup. But the people reacted fast. Just 48 hours after the regime takeover, the fierce coordination of resistance against it had begun.
Anti-coup protests took place and the word spread like wildfire through social media. Despite constant internet and power outages, the demonstrators still managed to communicate and organize their actions. One anti-coup campaign in particular started growing faster and faster: The Civil Disobedience Movement.
The CDM is a non-violent resistance movement founded by government healthcare workers who refuse to work under the military regime. Many civil workers have joined them in this strike. One of our interview partners for this article, a student in Yangon, found these words for the movement: “I truly have respect for the people of the CDM. They really risk everything to do their part in this movement. „
– Khant Thu
And they really do. Not working means that they don’t earn the money to take care of their families. Not only that, whoever is identified by the military as part of an anti-coup movement becomes a target immediately. Every day, there are people being killed by the junta. The soldiers dress up like civilians, break into houses at night, beat up women and children, and detain anyone who defies their will.
Why do these people risk their lives to withstand this military government? The answer is easy but not simple: They know their history.
Khant Thu told us that they heard stories from their grandparents about the old days of the military rule: „We know the stories, but we didn’t think it would become so bad again.“
The political history of Myanmar is complex but some of the major events can be summarized to gain a better understanding of the situation today.
“Burmese people in Myanmar are like white people in America.”
Myanmar is a country with a broad variety of ethnic groups which are different in culture and tradition. Most people belong to the ethnic group of the Burmese. But the minorities in Myanmar have been somewhat terrorized by the military since the first dictatorship. Tragically, this news never made it to the big media – until now. There seems to be one word that keeps coming back in the context of this coup: Privilege.
We, as citizens in a democratic country, are not the only ones who have begun to realize how privileged we are while learning about the situation in Myanmar. The people in Myanmar are finding out the truth about their status now.
We were lucky to have the chance to talk to members of an activist group that is running an informative Instagram page called:
One of the members and chief researcher is Olive, who is a student and currently living in Myanmar. As a Burmese woman, she says: „We are privileged, and we didn’t even know that before.“
She told us that the coup made things visible that were hidden and not talked about before.
„The military has been attacking the minorities from the beginning on.“ But „The military will only let you know what they want you to know.“
Since the coup this year Myanmar seems to unify, and its people stand together.
„The mask of the military has dropped.“
Says Khant Thu, a colleague of Olive and student in Myanmar. Now the violent crimes of the military become more and more visible in the media and social networks are a major key to exposing the military’s brutal tactics. A lot of people from the Burmese majority are now willing to educate themselves more about the situation of suffering ethnic minorities. Privilege is a question of life or death under the military rule.
Some young activists have incredible courage and even withdraw from old family bonds in the fight for democracy. Such as Hein Min, who told us his story: “I come from a military background. My father was a soldier. I had to give up my family.“
„I asked my father to resign from the junta or I will have to separate from the family.“ – Hein Min
After all, the people of Myanmar have shown outstanding bravery and willpower in these last months. Despite the danger, they are out on the streets protesting and refusing to go on with their daily lives.
„We can’t travel far from our homes, because it’s very dangerous on the streets now.“ Says olive. There is a clear visible exhaustion when looking at the faces of these young activists. But there is a drive and a passion in their words that seems to be stronger than everything else.
„We are in need of justice for all those who have been suffering for years.“
Says Hein Min. He speaks with urgency: „Myanmar’s government has committed crimes against humanity by systematically persecuting ethnic and religious minorities.“
When asking about the religious differences dividing Myanmar, the members of Listen Up Myanmar were very clear about their point of view: “In our cities the possibility of a peaceful coexistence of several religious communities becomes apparent when observing that synagogues, churches and temples are already able to be next to each other.“
While Buddhism was always considered the major “religion” of the country and is deeply rooted in Myanmar’s history and tradition, it doesn’t have to mean that other religions are excluded: “Religion should be something to unite people, not divide them.” Hein Min says. The military institution in Myanmar is Buddhist, and with a western conception of Buddhism, one could ask how people with Buddhist beliefs could become so violent.
The answer could be another question: Isn’t Christianity also a religion preaching about peace and love? Didn’t some of the biggest wars happen within a background of Christianity?
The young members of LUM agree, there are extremists in every kind of spiritual or religious institution: “It doesn’t matter if you’re Buddhist, Christian or Muslim … people are still people and they have too much greed for power. ” says Olive
This greed for power isn’t big news. In the history of time, violence was almost always caused by this blinding desire. Yet, and coming back to the theme of privilege, there are so many of us living in safe democracies, unable to imagine the feelings of the people in Myanmar. Unable to grasp what it means to have our basic human rights denied and violated. Privilege isn’t black or white, it has many layers. If the Burmese in Myanmar are privileged over the ethnic minorities in their country, then we are privileged over both. The members of Myanmar’s movements have recognized their privilege and they want to act on it. When asking about the goal of Listen Up Myanmar they said:
“Equal rights for everyone in Myanmar.”
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when? ”, Are questions that Hein Min is asking himself and these are question that all of us should ask ourselves when hearing about the situation in Myanmar. They shouldn’t be in this fight alone.
“I believe in humanity.”
Says Hein Min and it sounds like his belief and hope goes beyond the borders of his country.