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LIVE on April 22—Myanmar: Coup & civil disobedience
Graphic of soldiers and civilians by Badiucao. Used with permission. The Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, staged a coup on February 1. Two-plus months later, hundreds have been killed by the junta, thousands detained, and many more facing arrest warrants. What the military didn’t anticipate, however, was the resistance and defiance of Myanmar's citizens, who continue to challenge the coup and the armed forces’ terror tactics. Myanmar's pro-democracy movement has devised creative and daring ways to express dissent, in spite of internet disruptions, harassment and attacks on journalists, and the fo...
Global Voices
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Myanmar crackdown intensifies as air strikes lead to more killings and displacement
Anti-coup protesters hold a banner calling for the restoration of civilian rule in Myanmar. Photo by author. This article originally appeared on Medium and was written by a blogger who doesn't wish to be identified. An edited version is published here. Note: This article contains disturbing images of violence. Throughout March 2021, Myanmar’s military regime continued its brutal suppression of civilian movements that were calling for the restoration of democracy in the country since the military coup of February 1. Since February, protests across the country have been challenging the military ...
Global Voices
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Myanmar's anti-coup protesters include DIY shields, women’s sarongs in their defensive arsenal
Shields made by anti-coup activists and used on the frontlines of protests. They featured the image of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to discourage security forces from attacking protesters. Photo by author. This edited article originally appeared on the blog of a Global Voices contributor who doesn't wish to be identified. The death toll of Myanmar's protesters had already reached more than 217 by Wednesday, March 17 as the military ramped up its violent crackdown on the anti-coup resistance. The Myanmar military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, staged a coup on February 1 and replaced...
Global Voices
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An interview with a blogger who connects Myanmar and Hong Kong's dream for democracy
Image from Yangon.design. Free use. Ben Crox, a Hong-based BarCamp curator, has been visiting Myanmar regularly for the past ten years, promoting new technology and new media communication skills. “I have made a lot of friends, both young and [old]. Most of them are active on Facebook, where they post about their life and news about Myanmar,” Cox told me via email. During the pandemic, he started learning Burmese, which led him to pay extra attention to stories coming out of Myanmar. And when a military coup took place in Myanmar on February 1, he began posting — on social media and various on...
Global Voices
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Sunday's death toll rises to 71 in crackdown on anti-coup protesters in Myanmar
Rescue workers carry a civilian wounded by the security forces firing at anti-regime protesters in Mandalay on Sunday. Photo and caption by The Irrawaddy This article was originally published in The Irrawaddy, an independent news website in Myanmar, and is edited and republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. UPDATE: Thirty-two more deaths have been reported from Sunday, bringing the total to 71, and making it the bloodiest day since the February 1 coup, as Myanmar’s regime steps up its crackdowns on protesters. The total death toll reached 167 on Monday afternoon (Ma...
Global Voices
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Myanmar’s bloody Sunday sees highest death toll so far at hands of security forces
Riot police in downtown Yangon on February 28/The Irrawaddy This article was originally published in The Irrawaddy, an independent news website in Myanmar, and is edited and republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. “#How_Many_Dead_Bodies_UN_Need_To_Take_Action?” is the hashtag Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing posted on his Facebook account on Saturday night, February 27. His call on the popular social media site, for UN intervention to stop Myanmar’s military dictatorship, turned out to be his last post. On Sunday morning, the 23-year-old network engineer reinforced the call...
Global Voices
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Myanmar illustrators unite to distribute protest art for free
Screen capture from yangon.design. This post was originally published in Chinese on the Stand News on February 25, 2021. The English version is published on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement with the Stand News. A group of 30 artists from Myanmar uploaded more than a hundred protest posters to the website yangon.design for free print and use by those rallying against the military coup. In an interview with The Stand News, a representative of the artist's collective said: Like all other Myanmar citizens, artists want to contribute to the national struggle… [we] can assist othe...
Global Voices
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Myanmar’s ‘civil disobedience movement’ has produced many inventive ways of protesting
Protesters in Myanmar display huge banners with messages rejecting the military government. Photo supplied to Global Voices by a citizen journalist, used with permission 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 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 civi...
Global Voices
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‘You messed with the wrong generation’: Daily protests pose strong challenge to Myanmar coup
‘You messed with the wrong generation’, one of the protest visuals posted on walls in various cities across Myanmar. Photo supplied to Global Voices by local researchers, Used with permission The civil disobedience movement launched in response to the February 1 military coup has continued to gather support across Myanmar. Communication lines have been intermittently disrupted since the coup and internet connectivity was totally cut off on February 6. When service was restored the following day, the world saw images and reports of massive pro-democracy rallies in the streets of Myanmar cities ...
Global Voices