Myanmarians protest against coup despite night curfew“There is a popular saying among the citizens of Myanmar.’If we win this time, we will become Korea, and if we lose it, we will become North Korea.’ )
Every Wednesday in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, members of the Myanmar Youth Meeting in Korea hold a one-man demonstration to condemn the military coup in Korea. It is a meeting organized by Myanmar workers in their 20s to 30s and about 30 international students residing in Korea. They also hold signs in various places in the city, such as Gwanghwamun Square, and attend victims’ memorial events on weekends.
Even though they were busy with their livelihoods and studies, they said, “I don’t want to go back to Myanmar before democratization,” in an interview with Yonhap News on the 20th. Myanmar ended 53 years of military domination in 2015, and the civilian government was established, but on the 1st of last month, the regime was transferred to the military again due to a coup.
From the left, Jun, Yoon She-jin, Suta-jin◇ “Korea is a symbol of hope…I hope we can do it as a democratization model”
Jun (pseudonym, 34), an office worker from the youth group, said, “The current generation, including my nephew, do not want to live as repressed as in the past. If the coup is successful, the freedom and development that we have achieved since democratization will be in vain.” did.
Banker Momo (pseudonym, 30) said, “Since democratization, press freedom has been guaranteed, as well as various political parties and political organizations that allow us to interact with and choose a variety of ideas, which we have never imagined before.” “We never want to go back to the past,” he stressed.
Korea, which achieved democracy first, was said to be a symbol of hope for them. On August 8, 1988, a year after Korea’s democratic uprising in June, the so-called ‘8888 protests’ took place in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, calling for democratization. However, about 3,000 people were killed by the bloody suppression of the military and police, and the military dictatorship did not end.
Sutajin, an office worker who came to Korea in 2015, said, “We couldn’t develop for nearly 30 years due to the failure at that time, but Korea succeeded and became the Korea of today.” “We promise to be like Korea,” he said.
Jun, who lives in Incheon, said that the protests against the Myanmar coup and the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement are similar. He said, “At that time, Gwangju also fought without foreign help and shed blood,” he said. “The fact that such efforts accumulated and eventually obtained democracy gives us strength and courage.”
Yoon She-jin (25), who is studying at Seoul National University Graduate School, said, “There are a lot of stories on Myanmar citizens’ Facebook saying,’Let’s fight well with the history of democratization in Korea as a model.” “We often say that Myanmar is like this in 2021, but by 2040-2050 it can become like Korea.”
Mr. Momo (left) and Mr. A. Aung◇ Worry about the safety of families participating in the protest… “Thanks to the Korean citizens for helping out”
They are most concerned about the safety of their families and relatives fighting the military and police in their hometown. More than 200 protesters are known to have died so far, but the actual death toll is expected to be much higher.
Two older brothers of A. Aung (31, a freelance translator) from the youth group are participating in a protest in Yangon. At night, guards are taken directly to prevent military police from entering the streets. He said he couldn’t shake his concerns, saying, “I don’t think there was an intense suppression in the area where my family lives.”
Although the military and its supporters have not yet interfered with the activities of the Myanmar youth gathering in Korea, they said they felt threatened. Momo said, “There was a case in which the military disclosed the faces and names of civilian government leaders and businessmen who lived in Korea and supported the Myanmar protesters in newspapers, saying that they are’illegal senders’.”
They welcomed the South Korean government’s recent ban on exports of military supplies to Myanmar and appealed for the role of urging the United Nations and other countries to more aggressively sanction the military.
All of them did not hide their gratitude for the Korean citizens who support them.
A. A. Aung said, “During the one-person protest, my grandfather and grandmother gave me 50,000 won as pocket money and bought me coffee to support me,” he said. “I felt warm because I thought that we were not alone.”
Sutajin said, “I am sincerely grateful to the people who help me even though it’s not my job. If you let us know more so that we can get more attention, we will be able to create the country we want to make before we bleed more.”
Myanmar people protest with cell phone lights lit[연합뉴스]
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