Burma. A beginning of citizen resistance after the coup

It has become a daily fixture since the Burmese army coup against Aung San Suu Kyi and his government on Monday. At 8 p.m., the inhabitants of downtown Yangon, the historic former capital of Burma, come out on their balconies or on their doorsteps. They strike with all their strength on saucepans, in a ritual usually intended to drive out demons: That way, the military will understand what we think of them and their presence in power, hopes Lone lone, a young musician. If we are a whole neighborhood, a whole city doing it, they won’t be able to stop everyone.

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The boldest even dare to take a tour of the block with a flag bearing the effigy ofAung San Suu Kyi. The Lady, as she is nicknamed, who has not been seen since her arrest, has just been indicted for violating the import-export law. She would have kept a dozen walkie-talkies at home, without a license. The charge may be laughable, but it allows the junta to extend his pre-trial detention until February 15 and can earn him up to three years in prison.

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Since the announcement Monday that the generals had seized power for a period of at least a year, consternation reigns. We hardly believe it, summarizes Theri Chitwin, 24, a bank employee in Rangoon. We had the feeling that, even if the system was not perfect, this kind of thing could not happen any more, that we were inevitably going towards a democratic system. People are in shock, we don’t even know how to react.

Launched by doctors and nurses in the public sector, a movement of civil disobedience is gaining momentum. All officials are called to strike. Several universities have joined the movement. We appeal to the international community because we need funds for those who are going to strike , explains Khine Khynt, an English teacher in Rangoon.

Others are considering other types of actions: coordinated mass connections to government sites to block them, suggests a Burmese artist exiled in Thailand, or the boycott of products made or imported by companies belonging to the junta.

Similarities with the social movement in Thailand are emerging on the networks, in particular the use of salute with three raised fingers, a symbol of the fight against the dictatorship in South East Asia.

In a courageous act of defiance of military power, around seventy deputies from the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, gathered in a symbolic parliamentary session on Wednesday at a residential complex in Naypidaw the capital, where many of them were briefly detained on Monday before being ordered to return to their respective provinces. Several of them said they supported the civil disobedience movement.

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