Vol:1, Isssue:1
Greetings! As you all might be aware, the situation in Myanmar is dire. Much innocent blood has been shed and yet the murderous military seems to have no desire in stopping its atrocities anytime soon. Even an invading army from another country would not treat the natives in a way such as Myanmar army has treated its own citizens who have been protesting against the illegitimate power grab, the coup de tat of 1st February. The images of the distraught father of 19-year-old girl Kyal Sin from Mandalay, who wore a T-shirt with a logo “everything will be OK” and the other of a five-year-old Shwe Yote Hlyar wailing next to the open casket of her dad, Mr. Zaw Htet Soe who was shot dead by the military, were plastered on the front pages of world media outlets. Yet they still represent just the tip of an iceberg of Military’s indiscriminate shooting and killings. Nowadays the victims are not just the protesters but include many ordinary people minding their own businesses. The whole country is getting slaughtered at the hands of the inhumane Myanmar army. As of this newsletter writing, approximately 190 people have been killed and close to 2000 injured since the protests began a month ago, almost all from gunshot wounds. Free Myanmar was born out of this chaos, just like the many other democratic forces sprung to fight against this Myanmar military dictatorship. The situation has been getting worse every day and we have been extremely busy but we realized that we still owe regular updates to our friends and supporters regardless. Hence, we have decided to come out with timely newsletters .
Who, what, why is Free Myanmar:
During this 2021 Revolution, many came out to support the Myanmar Democracy movement in various forms and shapes which truly complement one another in trying to tighten the noose on the military junta. Many in the country are participating in Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Many are risking their lives by protesting on the streets of Myanmar as the security forces use live rounds indiscriminately shooting at will. Many are collecting donations to support the CDM staff who are not drawing their salaries. Many are arranging protests in their own localities to increase the awareness of what is happening in Myanmar. And others are signing petitions and writing letters to his or her own elected government officials or international bodies such as the United Nations encouraging them to exert pressure on the military regimen. It had dawned on us that a proper advocacy or lobbying group is still needed in trying to effectively convey our messages to appropriate policy makers and decision-making people in the western democratic governments. This is the main focus of Free Myanmar.
To accomplish this, a formal organization with designated missions, strategies and board members etc. has to be formed and registered at a state. A bank account has to be established. Those have been done. Free Myanmar must also be clear of its objectives and capabilities. After much brainstorming and research, we pinned down that advocating to expand the targeted sanction list on Myanmar military regime’s business and personal accounts would offer the best chance of interrupting the junta’s money flow. We just need to hand over such a wish list to the right individuals and convince them. Of course, this is an oversimplified statement whereas in reality it is a large undertaking with many logistical variables. And yet that is what we are striving to achieve. Free Myanmar is not after name recognition. If someone can do a better job than us, we will let that person or organization take charge while Free Myanmar will remain in a supporting role behind the scenes. Free Myanmar has 3 task forces, namely our advocacy and policy task force, research task force and media task force. Media task force has become the front of Free Myanmar in various platforms such as the Facebook , Twitter and the actual Free Myanmar web page. We realize we have a lot of room for improvement in raising the public image of Free Myanmar. Our web page is barebones and our twitter has few followers. We are working on improvements. You can help us by signing up as members, visiting the Free Myanmar Facebook page frequently or by following FM on Twitter. We haven’t solicited donations yet and are relying on a few well-wishers’ seed money. But eventually such could become a necessity.
Accomplishments thus far:
They may be few but they include being able to nail down an actual workable strategy in how to proceed, thanks to the hard work of the research task force. We had networked with a few other groups and organizations that share the same objectives while complementing one another. We had reached out to CRPH. Hate to use a worn-out cliché, but “the whole is greater than the sums of its parts” is so true in Free Myanmar’s case. Social media platforms are up and running. Letters to UN Secretary General, US Secretary of States, and UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Myanmar were sent out with a very nice reply and acknowledgement from the special envoy Ms. Christine Burgener.
Things are moving so fast in Burma. This is shaping out to be quite different from the previous uprisings such as the saffron revolution of 2007, 1988 uprising or 1973-74 students and workers uprising. Despite taking lessons from the past, we must be cognizant to adapt to the changing circumstances if we are to succeed. No single strategy may be enough and we may have to apply a multifaceted approach in this battle while recognizing each’s own strength and weakness. Our ultimate goal is to uproot the military dictatorship once and for all and create a true and democratic federal union of Myanmar.
Again, thank you for being a friend and supporter of Free Myanmar. We shall prevail in this revolution!
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