Myanmar’s Flames of Protest Ignite in Yangon
Nighttime Candle Vigils Light Up the Streets
When the sun dipped over Yangon on March 29, thousands gathered around flickering candles, raising their voices against a crackdown that has already claimed more than 500 lives since the February 1 coup.
South Dagon’s Dark Reality
In the city’s South Dagon district, at least eight civilians were among the fourteen killed that day. Witnesses report that security forces fired an unusually heavy‑caliber weapon—type unknown—to break up a sand‑bag barricade. State media called the crowd “violent terrorist people” and said a “riot weapon” was used to disperse them. Neither the police nor a junta spokesman has offered a comment.
UN’s Call for Peace
Antonio Guterres urged Myanmar’s generals to halt the killings and end the suppression of protests.
New Tactics: The “Garbage Strike” Civil Disobedience Campaign
On March 30, activists launched a fresh civil‑disobedience campaign, challenging citizens to hurl trash onto key road intersections as a symbolic strike against the junta. A social‑media poster read:
“This garbage strike is a strike to oppose the junta.”
Opposition to Official Garbage Rules
While some neighborhood loudspeakers on Monday begged residents to dispose of waste properly, the protesters’ counter‑move directly defied those calls.
Victims of the Silence
A South Dagon resident reported that gunfire persisted into the night, raising fears of further casualties.
Rebel groups warn military
Myanmar’s Sit‑And‑Scream: 510 Lives Lost in Two Month of Turmoil
Once again, the headline news is that at least 510 civilians have been stripped off in the two months of fighting against the government, according to the American Association for Peace and Progress (AAPP). The latest round, on March 27, was the bloodiest yet, with 141 people killed that day alone.
Call for Civilian Resistance
The front‑line coalition behind the protests, the General Strike Committee of Nationalities (GSCO), sent an open letter on Monday demanding that ethnic minority forces help uphold the “unfair oppression” that the military has been up‑and‑doing.
Just a day later, on Tuesday, three groups – the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Arakan Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army – co‑authorised a joint letter. Their message? “Army, stop the killing, solve the politics.” If the bosses keep on the butcher’s staff, they promised to “team up with all nationalities taking part in Myanmar’s spring revolution for self‑defence.”
Long‑Running Ethnic Power Struggles
Ethnic groups in Myanmar have been fighting the central government for decades to secure more autonomy. Lots of ceasefires have been signed, but now the army has been set loose again, especially in the east and north.
Last weekend, a savage clash erupted near the Thai border between the army and the Karen National Union (KNU) – Myanmar’s oldest ethnic group. The KNU overran an army outpost, killing a dozen soldiers, and the army replied with jets pounding the KNU zone. Roughly 3,000 villagers fled to Thailand. A supporter says that over 2,000 refugees were forced back, though Thai officials claim that the army’s policy is to keep them behind closed borders and deny aid agencies.
Military’s Power Play
The generals guard their reign by championing national unity. They seized power by proclaiming that November’s elections – won by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi – were fraudulent. The election commission fought back, but the military kept its grip.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the United States will suspend all trade engagement until Myanmar sees a democratically elected government. Yet sanctions and foreign criticism have yet to topple the generals. Suu Kyi remains detained in an undisclosed location, and many of her party’s other members are also in custody.
In this pack of turmoil, it seems the blood‑shed continues while the people fight for a glimmer of peace.
