Days after a military coup in Myanmar, the army’s top general practically shut down the internet as pro-democracy protesters took to the streets.
The biggest demonstration to date against the government’s overthrow on Monday took place in the city of Yangon, where protesters passed police officers equipped with anti-riot equipment, shouting: “Military dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win ”, while holding banners with the words:“ Against the military dictatorship ”
The protests came as General Min Aung Hlaing blocked access to Twitter and Instagram and then practically shut down the Internet on Saturday – a measure to prevent the spread of “false news”.
New York’s robust Burmese community is following minute-by-minute protests. For Thi Ha, 37, the acquisition sounded the death sentence for democracy. David Khin is more optimistic, convinced that his Burmese countrymen – banging their pots and pans in protest – will someday resume their fight for freedom.
But New Yorkers unequivocally agree that now is a scary time, even for them, because their words could mean trouble for their parents in a country that was once known as Burma.
Min Aung Hlaing justified his takeover by claiming that the National Democratic League, the controlling party led by Nobel winner Aung San Suu Kyi, had stolen the November parliamentary elections. The US condemned the acquisition.
“Democracy has died. This is 100%, ”said Ha, from Brooklyn. “Now we have lost our freedom in Burma. They hold who they want without the law. ”
Ha, 37, knows intimidation. He and his wife, MyatMon Thinn, fled the country two years ago, tired of being chased by soldiers for their pro-democracy efforts, taking NLD leaders to rallies and organizing protests.
“We try our best to achieve real democracy with the NLD,” Ha told the Post. “And because of that, the military is trying to catch me and my family.”
Ha and Thinn abandoned their business, a machine shop and a travel agency. Now he works in a grocery store and she works in a beauty store.
Khin, 35, is also concerned about his livelihood, as he owns a public relations / marketing agency in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar. Before the coronavirus pandemic, he divided his time between his childhood home and Queens, where many of New York’s 6,000 Burmese live.
Like Ha, Khin has been a pro-democracy activist for years – but in the United States, where he came in 2007 to go to college. He and his wife May marched in front of the Burmese embassy on Manhattan’s East Side long before Suu Kyi won his first parliamentary election in 2012, and they are more committed than ever to keeping their country free.
“We want change,” Khin told The Post. “This is why dissent is growing. That is why civil disobedience is growing. That’s why I’m disagreeing in my own way, here. “
And yet, although he and Ha are on the other side of the world, they think the military could make them pay for their words by retaliating against their parents.
“They are fine now, but they are very upset, very concerned about what may happen, the future,” said Khin. “Sure, I’m worried.”
But the two grew up in families where democracy was adopted – and they are willing to take the risk of speaking out.
“I will do everything possible to make my country free from the coup,” said Ha.