"We don't want this military coup": Myanmar teachers join protests

[snoop1130]

"We don't want this military coup": Myanmar teachers join protests

 

Teachers from Yangon University of Education wear red ribbons and pose with a three-finger salute as they take part in demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 5, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

 

(Reuters) - Teachers in Myanmar on Friday became the latest group to join a civil disobedience campaign with some lecturers refusing to work or cooperate with authorities in protest against the military's seizure of power.The civil disobedience campaign started among medical workers soon after Monday's coup but has since spread to include students, youth groups and some workers in both the state and private sectors.

 

Wearing red ribbons and holding up protest signs, scores of lecturers and teachers gathered in front of campus buildings at the Yangon University of Education.

 

"We don't want this military coup which unlawfully seized power from our elected government," said lecturer Nwe Thazin Hlaing.

 

"We are no longer going to work with them. We want the military coup to fail," she added, surrounded by other staff who held up held up three-finger salutes, now used by many protesters in Myanmar.

 

The salute - three fingers pointing up with palm away from the body - stems from the Hunger Games movies, but in recent years, it has been adopted by protesters against authoritarian rule in Asia.

 

One member of staff estimated 200 of the 246 staff at the university joined the protest.

 

"We aim to halt the administration system. We are now holding a peaceful strike," said another lecturer, Honey Lwin.

 

There were also reports of a similar protest at Dagon University in Yangon.

 

The opposition among professional groups like doctors and teachers comes as there have been other less formal protests including by people banging cans and saucepans and honking car horns to signal their opposition to the coup.

 

Several dozen anti-coup protesters also marched on Friday in the southeastern city of Dawei, followed by supporters on motorbikes, video footage showed.

 

"We declare that we start our fight for democracy today in Dawei. We urge the people to join and stand with us," said one protester.

 

The military directly ruled the Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, for almost 50 years after a 1962 coup and crushed pro-democracy protests several times over the years.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-02-05

 

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[smedly]

can the IMF cancel the cheque they just paid them for $800 million 

 

I hope there are people in the country that have control over this money to ensure it is spent as intended 

[simon43]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

can the IMF cancel the cheque they just paid them for $800 million 

 

I hope there are people in the country that have control over this money to ensure it is spent as intended 

It was sent in cash.......

[phantomfiddler]

I don't understand how the "Coup" word managed to jump in here. The same people are in power and all they have done is to send Aung San Su Chi back to her house on Lake Inye. Similar events are happening in neighboring countries and nobody raises an eyebrow ????

[PatOngo]

8 hours ago, smedly said:

can the IMF cancel the cheque they just paid them for $800 million 

It was'nt a cheque, it was cash! No doubt already allocated and deposited!

[PatOngo]

12 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

I don't understand how the "Coup" word managed to jump in here. The same people are in power and all they have done is to send Aung San Su Chi back to her house on Lake Inye. Similar events are happening in neighboring countries and nobody raises an eyebrow ????

It's an Asian thing, power and control are insatiable, not to mention greed for the trough! Democracy has'nt really caught on in many countries of Asia!

[Disparate Dan]

7 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

It's an Asian thing, power and control are insatiable, not to mention greed for the trough! Democracy has'nt really caught on in many countries of Asia!

True. Note that Malaysia and Indonesia have called for an emergency meet of ASEAN. It won't happen, of course (ASEAN elects not to discuss internal politics for reasons of obvious potential embarrassment), but they worry because they are the only two quasi-democracies left in the region! The boys in BKK must have been rubbing their hands with glee/quietly lending assistance to the Tatmadaw - now Burma is the news item, everyone will quickly forget about protests in TH.

 

Coup? According to Larry Jagan,  the takeover was just a “pretext for the military to reassert their full influence over the political infrastructure of the country and to determine the future, at least in the short term." Sounds all too familiar........

[Disparate Dan]

29 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

It was'nt a cheque, it was cash! No doubt already allocated and deposited!

To be fair, the reported amount (Reuters etc) was 350 not 800, but the principle remains that a "a no-strings-attached emergency aid package" was, at best, poorly timed.

[PatOngo]

1 minute ago, Disparate Dan said:

To be fair, the reported amount (Reuters etc) was 350 not 800, but the principle remains that a "a no-strings-attached emergency aid package" was, at best, poorly timed.

Dependent on whether you were giving or receiving! 

[Disparate Dan]

1 minute ago, PatOngo said:

Dependent on whether you were giving or receiving! 

Agreed, but this is a very complex situation. Don't forget The Lady is no longer the saintly figure she used to cut. Was the IMF's new-year gift to the Tatmadaw a way of giving her a smack?

[PatOngo]

Just now, Disparate Dan said:

Agreed, but this is a very complex situation. Don't forget The Lady is no longer the saintly figure she used to cut. Was the IMF's new-year gift to the Tatmadaw a way of giving her a smack?

I think the Burmese military has totally hoodwinked the IMF!

[Patong2021]

9 hours ago, smedly said:

can the IMF cancel the cheque they just paid them for $800 million 

 

I hope there are people in the country that have control over this money to ensure it is spent as intended 

 

Is $350 million and is intended to pay for Covid19 relief and medical supplies.

If military steals too much, there will be many angry unpaid Chinese and Indian suppliers.

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Teachers in Myanmar on Friday became the latest group to join a civil disobedience campaign with some lecturers refusing to work or cooperate with authorities in protest against the military's seizure of power.The civil disobedience campaign started among medical workers soon after Monday's coup but has since spread to include students, youth groups and some workers in both the state and private sectors

The whole country should stop in it's tracks until the military leaders give up.

[Disparate Dan]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

The whole country should stop in it's tracks until the military leaders give up.

won't happen, wouldn't work. The military there is as contemptuous of the people as elsewhere (ie Burma's immediate neighbours). Power and the money is all - and the west continues to oblige with pathetic protestations of synthetic 'outrage' that fool nobody.

Would have been a timely opportunity for this new Biden bloke to do somethng useful and show he's not a complete fool - but that isn't happening either.

[ExpatOK]

5 hours ago, Disparate Dan said:

won't happen, wouldn't work. The military there is as contemptuous of the people as elsewhere (ie Burma's immediate neighbours). Power and the money is all - and the west continues to oblige with pathetic protestations of synthetic 'outrage' that fool nobody.

Would have been a timely opportunity for this new Biden bloke to do somethng useful and show he's not a complete fool - but that isn't happening either.

Rest assured biden_i will not do anything useful. To use your words, he's a complete fool.

Edited February 6, 2021 by ExpatOK

[soalbundy]

Well the people protesting have more courage than me, the Myanmar military have a brutal reptation, killing their own people is normal.

[Disparate Dan]

1 hour ago, ExpatOK said:

Rest assured biden_i will not do anything useful. To use your words, he's a complete fool.

Perfect timing for him to assert his/US ambitions. China isn't as interested as many think beyond r*ping Burma for hydro-electricity, then getting out before they get their <deleted> kicked a fourth (?) time.

Plus the Rohingya thing, all would have played beautifully on the world stage, but he appears to have the speed of reaction of his predecessors (eg Reagan).

Of course he might have needed to ask Thailand to help with logistics, which would have been insurmountable....

 

[ericthai]

12 hours ago, Disparate Dan said:

won't happen, wouldn't work. The military there is as contemptuous of the people as elsewhere (ie Burma's immediate neighbours). Power and the money is all - and the west continues to oblige with pathetic protestations of synthetic 'outrage' that fool nobody.

Would have been a timely opportunity for this new Biden bloke to do somethng useful and show he's not a complete fool - but that isn't happening either.

This was a perfect time to do exactly what? and why now? Why not 5-10 years ago? 

I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm serious.

Really, I dont think the USA can do anything without being dragged into a war. 

[Disparate Dan]

6 hours ago, ericthai said:

This was a perfect time to do exactly what? and why now? Why not 5-10 years ago? 

I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm serious.

Really, I dont think the USA can do anything without being dragged into a war. 

We kind of agree, from different directions. US has hot air to offer, nothing more.

By doing nothing, it is demonstrating (notably to China) its complete impotence, especially in this region.

One thing US could be doing is telling Thailand to get off its military <deleted> and (with US backing) earn some of the dollars it's been trousering for so many years, but it appears too scared even to do that.