Why protest signs in Myanmar are in English
If you鈥檝e noticed more images of Myanmar鈥檚 protests in the news, there鈥檚 a reason for that. The demonstrators are displaying signs聽in English聽rather than Burmese to reach a global audience. They make sure to march past foreign embassies. They are also using a well-known gesture, the three-finger salute from 鈥淭he Hunger Games,鈥� to signify a universal defiance against the military coup of Feb. 1 as well as their own commitment to nonviolence.
Myanmar鈥檚 pro-democracy activists know that, unlike during mass protests in 2007 and 1988, the world has far more peace watchers in place, able to track violence against protesters and other innocent people. A global 鈥減eace industry,鈥� enhanced by the connective power of the internet, is establishing a norm that peace can be a positive force, not merely the absence of violence. The protesters, says Myanmar expert Richard Horsey at the International Crisis Group, are very much looking for foreign governments to show solidarity with their cause.
The protests have so far drawn one global reaction. On Friday, after the military killed at least 18 protesters, Myanmar鈥檚 envoy to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, broke ranks and addressed the 193-member General Assembly. He asked for strong action by the international community against the country鈥檚 generals and a return to democracy.
In another example of the U.N. pushing peace, the Security Council passed a resolution Friday calling for a sustained humanitarian pause in world conflicts to allow for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. In Afghanistan, Taliban militants have heeded international concerns and allowed vaccinations to start in areas they control.
The world鈥檚 ability to stand guard over peaceful protests has become so sophisticated that there is even an official manual for it. The 57 countries that make up the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe just reissued a handbook on how independent observers can monitor peaceful protests. This impartial monitoring 鈥渋s an effective means of bringing to light violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and other associated human rights, of identifying related challenges and good practices, and of supporting national and international action to guaranteeing human rights and fundamental freedoms,鈥� the OSCE states.
By closely watching protests, international monitors help democratic activists better engage repressive regimes. In Myanmar, says Mr. Horsey, international attention can 鈥渟upport the agency of the Myanmar people at this time.鈥�
In a globalized world, peace is not only local. It has universal appeal.
