Myanmar after the Democratic Uprising and the “8888 Joint Action”

Hong Myeong-gyo, Activist of Platform C

Since the coup d'état on February 1, Myanmar has experienced times of carnage and oppression on the other side of East Asia. As of September 10, about 1,100 innocent civilians have been killed by the guns and knifes of the military and the police and 8,000 civilians have been arrested.

Recently, Coronavirus has also hit the country. While information on the spread of the virus has rarely been released since the coup, the number of confirmed cases has increased rapidly since mid-June and set a record high in early July, with 2,318 confirmed cases. Again, the daily number of new confirmed cases surpassed 7,000 on July 14. The cumulative death toll reached 16,000 and the total number of confirmed cases reached 423,000 in early September, and there are still no signs of abatement.

However, the Myanmar military regime is obsessed with taking advantage of COVID-19 as a chance to maintain its grip on power, rather than making full efforts to contain the pandemic. Public health system collapsed due to the coup and military hospitals are too expensive for ordinary citizens to afford and hence they are deprived of chances to receive treatment. Most of the infected are staying at home.

The uprising was sparked by the civil disobedience movement of medical workers back in February and has since continued. Medical workers are volunteering to provide citizens with medical care against the military, and the military is going extra miles to oppress these medical workers. During protests, 67 doctors and 221 medical students were arrested, and arrest warrants were issued to about 600 people. Seven nurses were killed during protests. Furthermore, the military banned the sale of medical oxygen tanks to individuals but supplies them only to hospitals run by the military. As a result, Myanmar saw a much higher death toll vs. confirmed cases, than in other countries.

Since the start of the democratic uprising in Myanmar, civil society in Korea has formed international solidarity in various ways. In each area, dozens of civic groups or trade unions took the lead to form a group for solidarity with Myanmar, took actions such as press conferences and rallies. Such movements spread across the country, including Gwangju, Busan, Jeonju, Ulsan, Changwon, Geoje, Daejeon, Daegu, and Suwon. Particularly in Gwangju, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam-do, Korean civil society and migrant workers and students from Myanmar have gathered together almost every single week. Not only that, numerous events have been put together, such as lectures, debates, and documentary plays, for local residents and young people, so that they have chances to ponder on how Korean civil society could help desperate people of Myanmar.

Such international solidarity is almost unprecedented and was made possible by the awareness that Korean civil society, which used to benefit from support of the international community in the 1970s and 1980s, should now “reach out”, and take actions as the leader of solidarity. We don't need to go as far as our economic development to think that way. Such awareness came from the facts that people in Myanmar and Korea are living in the same region, East Asian, and the same era, and we are the ones who should fight similar but also different oppression, and contradictions and achieve grassroots democracy.

Ten days before the 8888 joint action, a relay challenge was held, whereby people posted videos of pot knocking, with a hashtag on social media. This event was part of a preliminary online action, which aimed to go beyond the limitations of social distancing. From July 28 to August 8, over 700 citizens participated in the challenge by posting about 200 videos. Such higher-than-expected participation showed that Korean civil society has high interest in Myanmar’s issues.

On August 8, the “8888 Joint Action” took place in major cities cross Korea, joined by civic groups and individuals who have been cooperating over the issues of Myanmar. The event was a reminder of the significance of the “Myanmar solidarity” that lasted for half a year and reinforced their committment to continuing such efforts. In particular, one important purpose of the event was to remember the 8888 Uprising, which took place in August 1988 in Myanmar with 1 million people, and to tell the 8888 Uprising is connected with today's uprising in Myanmar. Voices of solidarity with Myanmar citizens’ democratic uprising and condemning the carnage by the military resounded across major cities such as Seoul, Incheon, Suwon, Busan, Ulsan, Changwon, Gimhae, Geoje, Jeonju, Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, Chuncheon, Gwangyang, and Jeju in Korea. Although it was proposed and planned on a short notice, many civic groups, labor unions, and individuals participated from across the country.

People in Gwangju held an online rally through YouTube, and offline rallies took place in Busan, Ulsan, Jeonju, and Daegu. Protests were put up in front of the POSCO Center in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul and POSCO International in Incheon, and the protestors voiced condemnation against POSCO, which is undertaking a gas field development project directly working with Myanmar’s military. In Jeonju and Daegu, one-person protests were staged in front of National Pension Service and Korea Gas Corporation. They criticized these state-run companies for being a major shareholder in POSCO or part of POSCO’s consortium for the gas field project. In addition, big and small actions were taken in over 30 places in Seoul, Daejeon, Suwon, Chuncheon, and Jeju, which informed citizens that Myanmar people’s resistance continues despite brutal crackdown by the military and that Korean companies should sever business relationship with the Myanmar military.

These nationwide actions were followed by the “8888-Step Walk with Myanmar Citizens” at 8 p.m. Since it was not possible to hold a large-scale gathering offline due to social distancing amid COVID-19, the idea of walking “8888 steps” in respective places was proposed, so that more people could take part in. What is more, this event was joined by local democratic activists in Myanmar and Myanmar people living in Korea, true to the meaning of “international solidarity”.

The Walk lasted for about 2 hours and was joined by 200 people, and as such was a meaningful occasion. Participants were able to hear about the reality of Myanmar in detail through the video connection with local activists in Myanmar, and to convey the voices of solidarity through smart phone screens. I was also “logged onto” the action, walking 7 kilometers from Yeonnam-dong Park, along Bulgwang Stream to the Han River, Seoul, together with 10 members from my organization.

The uprising in Myanmar is not over yet. However, news about Myanmar is not much mentioned in newspapers these days and Korean citizens are not as interested as before. 30,000 Myanmar people living in Korea worry Myanmar’s issue might no longer draw attention.

However, just because you don't see it on newspapers doesn't mean their struggle is over. Despite the brutal suppression by the military, protests continue across the country and have rather increased since the National Unity Government (NUG) called for civilians' defense front on September 7.

People around the world know that democracy and equality cannot be achieved by a single country. Capital freely crosses national borders through the global supply chain, but ordinary citizens are increasingly divided by the borders. Stronger international solidarity is the only way to break through this stalemate. The fast changing situation in East Asia is gradually changing our view of the world, while history, experience, and interest in the contemporary era change us, too. The 8888 Joint Action on August 8 was one example of what we can do on our journey towards widespread democracy and equality.