Explainer: How Are the Myanmar Protests Being Organized?
2021-02-10
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1Protests in Myanmar against the military overthrow of the elected government have grown in recent days.
2But the country's military rulers have taken steps to make organizing the protests difficult or even illegal.
3Here is a look at who is organizing the protests and the problems they face:
4It was unclear for many days after the military overthrow on February 1 whether demonstrations were permitted or not.
5But as the demonstrations grew and spread around the country, the military announced Monday it was banning peaceful public protests in the country's two largest cities.
6Gatherings of more than five people were outlawed and curfews were put in place from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. for areas of Yangon and Mandalay.
7Thousands of people have been demonstrating in those cities since Saturday.
8The new restrictions have raised concerns about the possibility of a violent crackdown.
9For the most part, the protests have grown without any clear leadership structure.
10"This movement is leaderless -- people are getting on the streets in their own way and at their own will," said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a well-known activist.
11Activist groups, professional work groups, unions and others across Myanmar have all come out to protest.
12The demonstrators are supported by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
13Suu Kyi was ousted from power in the military takeover.
14Myanmar experienced direct military rule for more than 50 years until 2012.
15Shortly after the latest military overthrow, a Facebook page called "Civil Disobedience Movement" started calling for peaceful protests.
16The page now has more than 230,000 followers.
17It is also widely used by Twitter users in Myanmar.
18Health care workers also started a protest campaign.
19They are urging employees to refuse to work at state-run medical buildings.
20Some people who live in Yangon have voiced their anger by making loud noises across the city at night.
21One of the biggest problems for protesters has been the military's attempts to block communications.
22Facebook has 22 million users in Myanmar, nearly 40 percent of the population.
23The government acted quickly to shut Facebook down.
24But people then began moving to other social media services like Twitter.
25People have also been passing around information about how to keep communications secret and how to stay safe during protests.
26Some of the information had been designed for use by pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.
27Last weekend, the military temporarily cut internet services and some phone service.
28But many protestors were quick to overcome those problems, with some using phones registered in neighboring Thailand.
29"Even when the internet was completely cut off on Saturday for 24 hours, people were able to communicate within Myanmar by phone," said Clare Hammond.
30She is a senior campaigner for the rights group Global Witness.
31For others, simple word of mouth and an understanding of where demonstrations took place in earlier years has brought them out in protest.
32The protesters seem to remain operating without fear, even with the new restrictions in place on demonstrations.
33Some are worried, however, that the military is preparing for a violent crackdown similar to those that ended past uprisings in 2007 and 1988.
34Linda Lakhdhir is a legal advisor at Human Rights Watch.
35She said the military could try to use violations of the new rules, as well as existing laws, to justify another crackdown.
36She called the laws "draconian."
37At times, police have used water cannons and non-deadly bullets at some protests, raising concerns about the possibility of additional government measures.
38I'm Susan Shand.
1Protests in Myanmar against the military overthrow of the elected government have grown in recent days. But the country's military rulers have taken steps to make organizing the protests difficult or even illegal. 2Here is a look at who is organizing the protests and the problems they face: 3Is protesting permitted? 4It was unclear for many days after the military overthrow on February 1 whether demonstrations were permitted or not. 5But as the demonstrations grew and spread around the country, the military announced Monday it was banning peaceful public protests in the country's two largest cities. 6Gatherings of more than five people were outlawed and curfews were put in place from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. for areas of Yangon and Mandalay. Thousands of people have been demonstrating in those cities since Saturday. 7The new restrictions have raised concerns about the possibility of a violent crackdown. 8Who is leading the protests? 9For the most part, the protests have grown without any clear leadership structure. 10"This movement is leaderless -- people are getting on the streets in their own way and at their own will," said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a well-known activist. 11Activist groups, professional work groups, unions and others across Myanmar have all come out to protest. The demonstrators are supported by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. Suu Kyi was ousted from power in the military takeover. 12Myanmar experienced direct military rule for more than 50 years until 2012. Shortly after the latest military overthrow, a Facebook page called "Civil Disobedience Movement" started calling for peaceful protests. The page now has more than 230,000 followers. It is also widely used by Twitter users in Myanmar. 13Health care workers also started a protest campaign. They are urging employees to refuse to work at state-run medical buildings. 14Some people who live in Yangon have voiced their anger by making loud noises across the city at night. 15What are the difficulties? 16One of the biggest problems for protesters has been the military's attempts to block communications. 17Facebook has 22 million users in Myanmar, nearly 40 percent of the population. The government acted quickly to shut Facebook down. But people then began moving to other social media services like Twitter. 18People have also been passing around information about how to keep communications secret and how to stay safe during protests. Some of the information had been designed for use by pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. 19Last weekend, the military temporarily cut internet services and some phone service. But many protestors were quick to overcome those problems, with some using phones registered in neighboring Thailand. 20"Even when the internet was completely cut off on Saturday for 24 hours, people were able to communicate within Myanmar by phone," said Clare Hammond. She is a senior campaigner for the rights group Global Witness. 21For others, simple word of mouth and an understanding of where demonstrations took place in earlier years has brought them out in protest. 22Will the protests continue? 23The protesters seem to remain operating without fear, even with the new restrictions in place on demonstrations. 24Some are worried, however, that the military is preparing for a violent crackdown similar to those that ended past uprisings in 2007 and 1988. 25Linda Lakhdhir is a legal advisor at Human Rights Watch. She said the military could try to use violations of the new rules, as well as existing laws, to justify another crackdown. She called the laws "draconian." 26At times, police have used water cannons and non-deadly bullets at some protests, raising concerns about the possibility of additional government measures. 27I'm Susan Shand. 28The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 29________________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31crackdown - n. a serious attempt to punish people for doing something that is not permitted 32draconian - adj. very severe or cruel 33We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.