People protesting in the streets of Myanmar after a military coup do so in very different circumstances compared to previous demonstrations in the country, according to an analyst at policy research firm Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck, injuring four others. It was the most violent day of protests against the military, which this month overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
“This is what people have been afraid of all week, as these protests grew and you had tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of people on the streets of Yangon and Mandalay and Naypyitaw,” he told CNBC to Gregory Poling, main member of the Southeast Asian CSIS. Wednesday “Squawk Box Asia”.
Protesters ride scooters in a large convoy demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on February 7, 2021.
STR | AFP | Getty Images
He explained that these protests are very different from the large-scale demonstrations that took place in 2007, known as the “Saffron Revolution,” which were triggered by the military government’s decision to raise fuel prices.
“This is a Myanmar that has spent the last ten years opening up to the world, democratizing,” Poling said. “Most citizens have access to mobile Internet, or did so before the coup. Most people on the street probably don’t directly remember the saffron revolution and certainly have no memory of 1988.”
Myanmar saw nationwide protests, marches and civil unrest in 1988, in what is sometimes known as the 1988 uprising.
“This can be good and bad because it can convince them that the army will not resume,” Poling said of the current protesters. “Or maybe it gives them the confidence to go out and show generals that they don’t rule the same Myanmar as they did 15 years ago.”
He explained that while it is an “extraordinarily dangerous time” for Myanmar, the Board has not immediately jumped to the worst possible response. In previous protests, protesters had died in crackdowns while many were arrested.
Protesters in the capital Naypyitaw and other cities such as Mandalay have been injured by security forces, Reuters reported, citing local media. The agency reported that police fired heavily into the air and used tear gas and tear gas to disperse the protesters. CNBC was unable to verify these reports independently.
The United States has condemned the military acquisition and threatened sanctions. Beijing’s response has been softer, with recent Foreign Ministry press meetings describing China as a “neighbor friend of Myanmar” and calling for solutions to ensure its political and social stability.
But China, Japan, Singapore and Thailand are more influential in Myanmar’s economy than the United States.
“I think the real question is what Japan does, because it’s the only one of those big players that can impose any kind of economic pain on the generals,” he said.
Japan’s deputy defense minister warned this month that if the world closes channels of communication with Myanmar’s military generals in response to the coup, this could bring the Southeast Asian nation closer to China, reports say. premises.