When the clock struck midnight on the last day of 2021, unlike people across the globe who shouted “Happy New Year!”, the people of Myanmar yelled “Our revolution must prevail!” in defiance of the junta, and cursed coup leader and junta boss Min Aung Hlaing.
Over the past 11 months Myanmar people have shown unwavering opposition to the regime that overthrew the elected civilian government and seized power in a February coup.
They demanded a restoration of democracy and the return of the rights stolen from them by staging street protests, launching a peaceful civil disobedience movement—a popular strike in which civil servants refuse to work under the regime and people boycott products and services from military-owned businesses to the state lottery, and refuse to pay taxes—as well as armed resistance as the junta continued its brutality against unarmed civilians around the country.
“Though it has been 11 months since the military coup, our people continue to demonstrate their rejection of the military dictatorship in different ways,” Ko Tayzar San, one of Myanmar’s most prominent anti-regime protest leaders, wrote on his Facebook account.
He added that the new year will be a revolutionary one in which the people of Myanmar seek to uproot the fascist army from the land.
“Our New Year’s commitment is nothing short of reaching a turning point, a vital historic milestone in our public revolution, in 2022,” he said.
The majority of Myanmar nationals both inside and outside the country share Ko Tayzar San’s New Year’s resolution. Their chants of “Our revolution must win!” when the new year began, despite the presence of junta forces in their neighborhoods, demonstrated their commitment to the struggle for democracy.
A Yangon resident said the slogan resounded around her neighborhood at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
“Nobody said ‘Happy New Year!’ as in previous years, as we are not in the mood for that. Our only hope for this year is to see victory in our revolution against the regime,” she said.
A civilian resistance fighter who joined the People’s Defense Force wrote that, “In the new year, I wish the people of Myanmar a just revolutionary war victory.”
Last year around 1,400 heroes lost their lives at the hands of the murderous junta forces while engaging in anti-regime activities, more than 11,200 people were arrested, and tens of thousands were displaced from their homes due to the junta’s terror campaign.
Dr. Sa Sa, the parallel National Unity Government’s minister of international cooperation, said that while the world celebrates the new year with the sights and sounds of fireworks accompanying their festivities, for the people of Myanmar Jan. 1 marked the 335th day of the coup, and the sight and sound of explosions signals only fear and danger.
“For almost a full year, we have witnessed the true horror of military brutality and dictatorship,” he said in a New Year’s video message.
However, the minister said that with the determination of the Myanmar people who haven’t given up no matter how fierce the junta’s oppression, the losses of last year will become gains this year.
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