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Protesters shout slogans at a demonstration against the military coup in front of the Central Bank of Myanmar in Yangon on February 16, 2021. (Photo by Sai Aung Main / AFP)
HONG KONG – Your posters say it all: Myanmar’s ruling junta is worse than an ex-boyfriend, dirtier than curried fish, rejected by millions and more painful than a period.
As they flood the streets across the country in opposition to last week’s military coup, a younger generation of Myanmar protesters are cracking jokes at the military’s expense and gaining a following on social media with their colorful, witty, and often explicit.
The situation is so bad, “even introverts are here”, as a protester’s poster said.
“My ex is bad, but the Myanmar military is worse,” said another.
Contempt has mounted in particular against army chief Min Aung Hlaing, now in charge after the coup toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Our dreams are taller than the height of EVIL,” read a handwritten cardboard sign, a reference to the commander-in-chief’s diminutive stature.
“Min Aung Hlaing, I hate you more than my periods,” said another, raising a car window.
Photos of clever and identifiable comments have been shared thousands of times on social media, with retweets and comments from users in Hong Kong, the United States and elsewhere.
This clever social media campaign “is a creative new kind of protest for Myanmar,” said Htaike Htaike Aung, executive director of Myanmar ICT for Development, a Yangon-based digital rights group.
“The younger generation … is on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Discord mobilizing other young people,” he told AFP.
Unlike previous generations, largely isolated from the world during 49 years of military rule, these young Myanmar protesters came of age connected to the internet zeitgeist.
And they are very online.
In a widely shared sign, a woman reinterpreted “WAP” (Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s explicit summer hit of the summer) to mean “We are protesting peacefully.”
Many of the signs are in English, highlighting the desire to appeal to an international audience.
Not only has social media spread their message, they have also connected protesters in Myanmar with users in Hong Kong and Thailand who exchanged tips on staying safe during the protests.
Helmets, essential equipment during the Hong Kong riots, are also becoming a signature of this movement.
Coming in line
None of this would have been possible a decade ago.
Before Myanmar began its democratic transition in 2011, internet cafes dotted major cities, but Skype, Gmail and Facebook were restricted by the isolation imposed by the military.
Despite smartphone use skyrocketing around the world, only North Korea had fewer mobile phones than Myanmar, where SIM cards cost thousands of dollars.
That changed in 2013, when the government ended the state telecommunications monopoly and prices for SIM cards plummeted, while cheap Chinese smartphones, preloaded with Facebook, became widely available.
Eager to connect after years in the dark, the country went online virtually overnight and was soon inundated with transportation apps, food delivery services, and money transfer platforms in an internet gold rush.
Disconnecting all this connectivity will be difficult, if not impossible, said Htaike Htaike Aung, a digital rights activist.
The military has already tried to control the country’s internet, but users circumvented a national blackout, as well as social media restrictions with VPNs, foreign SIM cards and other measures before access was restored.
As one of the ironic signs that proliferate throughout the country says, the military “has messed with the wrong generation.”
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