Resist Dictatorship!
BAYAN In Solidarity With the People of Myanmar
February 15, 2020
We are one with the people of Myanmar/Burma who are bravely resisting the military junta that seized power on February 1 and detained democratically-elected government leaders from the National League for Democracy (NLD), including President Aung San Suu Kyi. The Tatmadaw (Burmese Armed Forces) alleges, without evidence, that the NLD’s landslide victory in the November 2020 elections is marred by fraud.
Despite sheer brutality and continuing military threats, tens and thousands of peace and freedom-loving Burmese have been turning out in protest as their opposition against the coup grows and develops into a massive resistance against the military junta.
Since the coup, citizens have called for and actually engaged in a movement for civil disobedience to bar full military dictatorship from defining governance in Myanmar. The Burmese people have decisively called for their civil servants to take to the streets and join the broad uprising against the military junta.
Braving militarized streets, with blocked roads and raws of police with their riot shields, batons, water canons and lethal weapons, civil servants along with workers, teachers, students, professionals and other sectors continue to hold their ground. They do so in order to shutdown the coup government and despite facing crackdowns by the police.
Various sectors under BAYAN as well as our affiliate lawmakers from the progressive bloc in the Philippine Congress, MAKABAYAN, have called for international action to thwart military dictatorship and expressed support for the civil disobedience movement in Myanmar. We likewise express our solidarity and salute the Burmese people for showing us courage and determination.
The calls of our Burmese brothers and sisters, “Stop Working and Come Out!” and “Resist Dictatorship!” resonate with our current undertaking as the Filipino people resist Duterte’s tyranny and the horrors of the Anti-Terror Law amidst the COVID-19 menace. The Duterte government’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council resolution to condemn the coup is by no means a reflection of the Filipino people’s struggle for human rights and our desire to forge solidarity with all peoples of the world fighting for freedom and independence from tyrannical and violent regimes.
We call on all organizations under the banner of BAYAN, friends and allies to support Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement as it gathers pace both on the ground and online. We also demand that our over 1,200 Overseas Filipino Workers be given immediate assistance by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Duterte government amidst this developing situation in Myanmar.
Let us, together with our Burmese neighbors, voice our opposition to military dictatorship by banging pots and clanging cymbals, an action held every night by the Burmese people and online by their supporters worldwide.
It is in the darkest of times that freedom-loving people from all parts of the world must come together and uphold solidarity and resistance against military attacks and all forms of tyranny.
#PotsandpansforMyanmar
#SaveMyanmar
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