As Anti-coup Protests Enter 2nd Week in Myanmar, Protesters Deploy Beauty Queens & Inflatable Pools
As nationwide protests in Myanmar (formerly Burma) enter their second week following an illegal power grab by the military, the mostly-young protesters are resorting to creative tactics to press their messages to the international community.
From the start, multilingual signs have been used, so that foreign media and diplomats can understand key grievances.
But lately images have emerged of protesters sitting in inflatable pools in front of the Japanese Embassy to show their non-violent nature. Elsewhere, protest lines have included elaborately-dresses “princesses,” beauty pageant contestants and shirtless young men.
Angry protesters on traditional wooden boats in Shan state.
And it’s not only a land where people are voicing their outrage. In the country’s Shan state, villagers are protesting from traditional wooden boats in Inle Lake.
The show of strength on the streets can best be described as a savvy, eloquent and peaceful show of defiance against a brutal military regime.
The leaderless movement is keen to get its messages out to the international community before the military junta - which has a long track record of brutality towards civilians - uses force to quell the protests. Earlier this week, water canons, tear gas and rubber bullets were used against protesters in the remote, purpose-built capital, Naypyitaw. A young girl was seriously injured when she was struck in the skull by a rubber bullet.
As part of its counterattack, the military has resorted to shutting down or limiting access to online services and introducing a draconian cyber law that seriously limits freedom of speech. However, the movement has managed to circumvent the blocks. Other young protesters in Thailand and Hong Kong have been known utilised Bluetooth technology and virtual private network (VPN) services to covertly exchange messages and circumvent online barriers.
In any case the generals have been seriously outflanked by the young protesters and their use of social media to organize and mobilize. The protesters in Myanmar have been receiving significant moral support online from other groups of young people - for example via the #MilkTeaAlliance on Instagram.
A post on Facebook on Thursday explaining a possible misstep by the generals
The protests erupted last week after the military seized power following a humiliating loss in November elections. The coup leaders claimed the poll was flawed but local and foreign election observers documented no major violations. Several elected leaders have been rounded-up - including the de facto highest civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
A week before the coup, China’s foreign minister paid an official visit to Myanmar - leading to speculation that Beijing either blessed the takeover or provided economic or political backing to the generals. Beijing has denied the claim but has, along with Russia, already blocked a UN Security Council condemnation statement on Myanmar.
A Burmese business executive living outside the country told me: “The situation is getting bad in Myanmar. The people are going to fight it. The generals must have suspected this so I think they've got the support from China, because what the military is doing is way out of line."
Read my Los Angeles Times OpEd from my 1989 covert reporting mission to Burma here
Watch the South China Morning Post video on creative protest tactics here
