The people of Myanmar are being urged to join the fifth nationwide Silent Strike and a continuation of the White Campaign on Thursday to mark the third anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar.
Organizers of the strike are encouraging them to stay inside their homes or shops from 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Feb. 1 to show their defiance to military rule.
“This year, 2024, is a very crucial year for the Spring Revolution. We need to fight the dictatorship with two fists, armed resistance and non-violence. We need to knock down the military junta in these two ways simultaneously,” strike organizer Ko Nan Lin from Alliance Yangon told The Irrawaddy.
Spiraling inflation, blackouts and a currency crisis are among the post-coup features of life in Myanmar. So are war crimes: arson attacks, indiscriminate bombing of civilians, torture, mass arrests and mass murder.
Since late 2023, however, the junta has faced a major, coordinated offensive by resistance forces that has seen it lose major bases, towns, and trade routes. Resistance forces have also seized arms and ammunition from junta troops, making them better armed.
The junta has responded by increasing its attacks on civilians and notching up oppression.
Ko Nan Lin says this shows the military is desperate, and the regime could fall this year if the people unite in fighting it.
An organizer from the General Strike Coordination Body said it has three objectives on the third anniversary of the coup. First, urge the international community and governments of other countries to stop selling transport and aviation fuel to Myanmar’s military. Second, urge people to continue to refrain from paying taxes imposed by the military regime despite the threats this causes. Third, urge every soldier at every level in the chain of command chain to defect and stop sacrificing their own lives to protect the wealth of a handful of generals.
The General Strike Coordination Body combines 37 anti-dictatorship groups and was formed on March 30, 2021, shortly after the coup.
The Spring Revolution began with some doubt. At its start, the belief that the junta was impossible to root out because of its military power was not uncommon. Three years later, however, those who oppose the junta believe they can end the dictatorship step by step.
Dr.Tayzar San, a prominent anti-regime protest leader, said unity had survived the coup. “Myanmar’s people are still standing together and united three years later. It is time to show the world our unity in opposing the military dictatorship by participating in the Silent Strike and White Campaign,” he explained.
The fate of the Spring Revolution depends on the people, he said, calling for more than words. The Silent Strike and White Campaign will display the efforts people are making to end dictatorship more than words do, he said.
The White Campaign will not be limited to the third anniversary of the coup. It will be held every subsequent Monday, organizers said. People will display their convictions by wearing white attire or accessories, like white ribbons or armbands. It aims to weaken the regime’s financial and military strength.
The first White Campaign was launched in 2006 by the late Ko Jimmy, a member of the 88th generation student movement and a political activist. He launched the campaign to call on the then junta to release political prisoners. He was hanged by the current junta in 2022 along with other three other anti-regime activists.
The first Silent Strike in Myanmar was held on March 24, 2021 to show unity against the military dictatorship. Another was held on December 10 that year and the third on February 1, 2022 , the first anniversary of the coup. A Silent Strike was also held last year, on the second anniversary of the coup.
The silence unnerved the junta. It responded to the first one by sealing off homes, and arresting and jailing protesters.
On the second Silent Strike junta troops arrested freelance photojournalist Ko Soe Naing. He was killed in detention after taking pictures of a deserted Yangon. Another photojournalist was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison.
As of Jan. 29, 2024, the military junta has arrested 25, 915 civilians and jailed 19,977 since the coup, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. The junta has killed 4,453 civilians since it seized power three years ago, the rights group said.
