This story was produced in collaboration with Coda Story.
A month after Myanmar’s military took power in a bloodless coup and declared a one-year state of emergency, daily protests continue to shake cities and towns across the country. Now, in addition to taking his anger out into the street, an underground movement of pro-democracy activists has unleashed a series of new digital tools on the armed forces and police.
Myanmar’s powerful army has long maintained strong control of the country’s finances by investing in various lucrative sectors such as mining, tobacco, garment manufacturing and banking.
The February 1 takeover, which ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has highlighted ties with several companies. International and local companies linked to the security forces have received increasing pressure from activists who say the companies are complicit in war crimes committed by the armed forces.
A recent Amnesty International investigation found that shareholders in a secret business conglomerate called Myanma Economic Holdings Limited, which is linked to international companies such as Japanese beverage giant Kirin Holdings and INNO Group, a South Korean real estate developer, have received payments of up to $ 18. billion for 20 years.
Last week, Kirin Holdings announced it would abandon its association with a brewery partially owned by military generals. In a statement, the company said it was “deeply concerned” by the recent actions of the army and that it would “take urgent measures to implement this termination.”
Attention to army-related companies has spurred the launch of new mobile apps by Myanmar activists trying to weaken the current governing board’s revenue. Last week, Yangon-based company Genxyz launched an app called Way Way Nay (Stay Away). It lists 250 companies, including financial institutions, retailers, construction companies, media and manufacturers of health and beauty products with links to the military.
Way Way Nay, available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store, has been downloaded 70,000 times since its release.
In an interview, the app’s operations manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he wanted to add 450 more companies to the list. “We wanted to be able to show the normal people of Myanmar how the military is linked to all aspects of daily life. We thought an app would be a good way to remind people what to boycott when they buy products or services. “
The army’s efforts to quell Myanmar’s largest pro-democracy protests in more than a decade have led to increasingly repressive crackdowns in the past month. According to human rights groups, more than 50 people have been killed and nearly 1,700 detained since the armed forces took control of the country.
On Wednesday, at least 38 people were killed when security forces fired on protesters in several cities and towns across the country. Video footage apparently taken by residents of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, appeared to show security officers shooting a man at an open distance. In an independent incident, CCTV footage released by Radio Free Asia showed police assaulting and detaining three ambulance workers.
The gravity of the official response to the protests marks the hardening of the Board’s attitude to the daily demonstrations that have paralyzed the country’s economy and large swathes. On Thursday, Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on Myanmar security forces to stop their “cruel repression against peaceful protesters” and urged the military to release the hundreds of people he believes they have been illegally detained since February 1st.
Myanmar’s blacklist, which launched on March 3 on Android, is a guide for shoppers who want to avoid companies whose sales benefit Myanmar’s armed forces. Myanmar’s blacklist also allows users to submit new suggestions so companies can boycott via an email feature in the app.
The creator of Myanmar’s blacklist, who asked to go by the pseudonym Red Warrior, explained that the app was designed to limit the military’s access to different revenue streams. “In the long run, the reason they have all the power and all the influence is because of these companies and brands that they’ve been promoting,” he said.
“If people do not support these brands or services, our money will not go to the military regime. We can gradually reduce its monopolizing influence on the country. “
Myanmar’s digital activists have also created apps to warn citizens and protesters of the increasing presence of police and troops on the streets. Launched on Android on February 11, Myanmar Live Map takes real-time user data to highlight areas with a high concentration of security personnel. The app, which already has 40,000 users, also reveals the location of water cannons, roadblocks and ambulances. Moderators check all data before uploading.
One of the creators of Myanmar Live Map told me that the app’s designers took the trail of a similar digital street map used by protesters during pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2019. He added that members of the his team consulted an anonymous 70-page document called The HK19 Manual, widely shared by Hong Kong protesters and recently translated from English into Burmese.
Over the past month, Myanmar’s digital activists have had to overcome a series of military-forced Internet disruptions and mobile network disruptions. On Thursday night, the UK-based organization Netblocks confirmed national connectivity to the Internet it had plummeted during the 19th consecutive night up to 13% of pre-coup levels.
Pro-democratic organizers in Southeast Asia say Myanmar’s Internet closures are similar to those deployed by authoritarian governments elsewhere. Sunny Chou, a former Hong Kong protester and founder of the human rights group Umbrella Union, who sought asylum in the UK earlier this year, said disrupting internet and data services in Myanmar was a widespread strategy. used by the Hong Kong authorities. . “During the height of the movement in Hong Kong, there were a few times when our apps were shut down,” he said. “Telegram was also attacked a few times so that protesters could not communicate properly and organize their response.”
However, as Myanmar’s pro-democracy demonstrations have picked up pace, the country’s digital insurgency has also sparked interest among online and offline activists in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia and Hong Kong, places that have been shaken by pro-democracy protests in recent years, an informal but vigilant alliance of like-minded advocates has used the Internet to highlight the violence in Myanmar. while at the same time giving birth to their own oppressive regimes.
Sina Wittayawiroj is a Bangkok-based activist and visual designer who first became interested in her country’s pro-democracy movement in January 2019, when protesters took to the streets after the country’s ruling military junta indicated that long-delayed elections would be delayed by a fifth. time in five years.
Activists like Wittayawiroj have gathered on social media, spreading satirically memes and tips highlighting violence in Myanmar under the hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance, which is named after a popular sweet drink across the region. Many who follow the label share a common fear about China’s dominance in the region: in Thailand, for example, support for Taiwan and Hong Kong has become a meeting point for ordinary citizens who believe that his own government is undemocratic and is too narrowly Beijing.
Wittayawiroj, who works for a video production and transmission platform, said he learned of the current crisis in Myanmar from a Burmese co-worker. He has regularly posted illustrations with the hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance since the February 1 coup in Myanmar. “I talk a lot with them and I try to understand the situation that people live. I understand there was an election, but the military took control. I felt like I had to draw something to help them. “
Regional experts say the #MilkTeaAlliance has been energized by pro-democracy regional movements. “When we had the pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong in 2014 and 2019, the world was watching,” said Debby Chan, a Hong Kong researcher studying China-Myanmar relations. “Activists in Thailand and Myanmar also paid close attention to what happened in Hong Kong at the time.”
“When some of the Hong Kongers witness Thai and Myanmar activists in their struggle, we see each other in their movements,” he added.
This story was produced in collaboration with Coda Story.