Myanmarese insurgents are using the internet to raise funds to fight the military coup

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

The National Unity Government has started fundraising campaigns to help fund its battle to depose the military government.

The woman known only as Burmese Beast is sponsoring the resistance to Myanmar's military regime from a small city in Northeast Asia.

The assistant professor in her 30s organises fundraising campaigns on social media, offering to draw portraits in exchange for money, which she then donates to the cause of resisting the military regime, while working on her iPad and listening to podcasts like the BBC's You're Dead to Me.

 

"It's calm, tranquil, and safe here — everything Myanmar isn't right now," the woman told Al Jazeera, requesting anonymity and without revealing her exact location.

Burmese Beast, who left Myanmar over a decade ago, has sent money to humanitarian aid workers, striking civil servants, and, most recently, the People's Defence Force (PDF), the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG), the parallel government formed by politicians ousted in February's military coup.
The military dictatorship in Naypyidaw, officially known as the State Administration Council, has labelled both groups as terrorist organisations (SAC).

 

"As a fundraiser, I've been in touch with a lot of young people who joined the PDF, and they're doing it because they're hopeless about their futures, not because they're violent or thirsty for blood," said Burmese Beast, who claims that the people have no choice but to take up arms against the coup leaders and the forces backing them up.

"I don't condone violence, and I'm not happy when I hear about SAC soldiers being killed."

The initial opposition to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing's coup, which deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government, was mostly nonviolent, with millions coming to the streets to protest or strike at state-run businesses.

 

When the military retaliated by killing over 1,300 civilians in a violent crackdown on protesters, the resistance movement embraced armed revolt.

After months of skirmishes, the NUG launched a "people's defence war" to destabilise the military in September.
However, starting a civil war and forming a parallel government has posed difficult problems about funding and navigating an ethical and legal minefield.

The NUG's revolution will require significant financial resources.
The parallel administration has promised "continued support" in the form of $60 payments to roughly 200,000 striking federal officials, but in August, it was believed that about 410,000 government employees were still refusing to work.

 

The NUG has set a budget of around $800 million, excluding defence spending, but has been tight-lipped about how it will pay for the fight.
Requests for comment were not returned by the NUG.

However, a number of formal fundraising efforts have proven to be extremely popular among the general public.

 

The NUG introduced a Spring Lottery in August to help striking civil staff.
According to NUG representatives, the pilot programme raised roughly $8 million, and once expanded, it may raise about $11 million every month.
Local media stated that 55 of the 78 lottery winners returned their prize money back to the NUG administration, demonstrating the NUG's popular popularity.

Another popular campaign has been the sale of so-called bonds, which pay no interest and are unlikely to be repaid unless the military government is deposed.
The NUG claims to have sold almost $2 million in bonds in the first two hours of their offering, with aspirations to raise $200 million in total.

 

"The NUG's numbers for the cash raised from the Spring Lottery, raffle, and now bond sales show that they have been rather successful, each garnering millions of dollars," Richard Horsey, Myanmar adviser to the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.
"It demonstrates that a sizable portion of the Myanmar diaspora is willing to donate substantial sums in support of the resistance movement."

One NUG fan in Europe who bought $2,000 in bonds told Al Jazeera that he didn't expect to be repaid anytime soon.

 

"I feel the only purpose, not only for myself but for the vast majority of others, is to fund the NUG because they believe it is the only mechanism that can bring us to triumph," the supporter, who requested anonymity, added.
"There is no financial incentive for anyone to buy the bond."