Anti-Coup Protesters Launch Garbage Strike in Myanmar

Over 500 civilians have been killed since Myanmar’s Feb. 1 military coup. Protests and civil disobedience campaigns launched by pro-democracy activists are ongoing. 

On March 30, pro-democracy activists in Myanmar launched a civil disobedience campaign of throwing garbage into the streets at key intersections in protest of the country’s military rule and the frequent killing of civilians by security forces. At least 512 civilians have been killed since Myanmar’s Feb. 1 military coup. 

The military seized control of Myanmar two months ago, ousting democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (NLD). After Suu Kyi’s landslide victory, the opposition began claiming widespread election fraud and demanded a recount of the votes. The military backed the opposing party’s claims of fraud, despite the election commission’s statement that there was no evidence to suggest the election had been tampered with. On Feb. 1, Parliament was scheduled for its first meeting since the Nov. 8 election, where it was expected to endorse the election results and approve the next government. The military detained Suu Kyi and the leaders of the NLD, arrested a number of writers and activists, and declared a yearlong state of emergency. 

The coup returned Myanmar to full military rule after the country’s decadelong quasi-democracy. Myanmar was under full military rule from 1962 to 2011, when the military implemented a parliamentary election system. Since the coup, Suu Kyi has been held in an undisclosed location and faces several charges, including violating the country’s official secrets act. 

Protests against the coup began immediately, and are some of the largest and most widespread protests in Myanmar since 2007, when thousands of monks spoke out against the military. A number of civil disobedience campaigns, like the current garbage strike, have been ongoing as well, paralyzing various sectors of the economy. The military’s response to protests escalated quickly, from imposing curfews and limits on gatherings to the use of rubber bullets and live ammunition. Hundreds of civilians have been killed by security forces. March 27 was Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day, and the deadliest day of the coup thus far, with 141 deaths resulting from the military’s attempt to stop protests. 

The current garbage strike reportedly began after loudspeaker announcements in some areas of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, urged residents to dispose of their garbage properly. Word of the protest circulated on social media alongside the message that anyone could join in protest against the military. Once the protest had started, photos of garbage piling up in the streets began to circulate. 

Also on March 30, a joint letter from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Arakan Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army called for the government to stop killing protesters and to resolve political issues. 

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

Syria’s Struggle: How 10-Day Span Air Raid Wiped Out Over 100 Civilians

On July 26, 2019, an air raid over Syria caused many casualties and sparked concern about why the violence was not being addressed by media outlets.

Protestor sign in London. chrisjohnbeckett. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Many people have lost their lives in an air-bombing raid in Syria in the past few weeks. The raid killed 103 people in only 10 days. Michelle Bachelet, human rights advocate, blames the government for the mass bombings, condemning the “failure of leadership by the world’s most powerful nations”. Syria, as well as Syria's ally – Russia, have denied the attack on civilians, claiming they are not responsible for the violence.

UN specialist Michelle Bachelet, brought the UN’s attention to what was going on, stating that “These are civilian objects, and it seems highly unlikely, given the persistent pattern of such attacks, that they are all being hit by accident,” she added. “Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes, and those who have ordered them or carried them out are criminally responsible for their actions.”

The air raids occurred over the Idlib regioni and in rural Aleppo region. Bachelet states, the areas “have experienced civilian casualties as a result of airstrikes in the past ten days alone, causing a minimum of 103 civilian deaths, including at least 26 children”. The reason Bachelet was so passionate about bringing the UN attention to the violence was because no one else was. The events happened over a 10 day span and in those ten days, little to no coverage was happening to address and possibly stop the violence. Bachelet states that she is “concerned that the continued carnage in Syria ‘is no longer on the international radar.’”

The air raids targeted a rebel-populated base, attacking “medical facilities, schools and other civilian infrastructure such as markets and bakeries”. These frequent and malicious attacks are too premeditated to be labeled as an “accident”, claims Bachelet. 

According to a statement made in the Daily Star, “The region under attack is home to some three million people, nearly half of them already displaced from other parts of the country. It covers nearly all of Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces. The Idlib region is controlled by jihadist alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria affiliate.” Still, because there was such a lack of response to the air raids, no one is taking responsibility. 

The office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) issued a statement claiming the air raids were seen as the “deadliest days” in the Idlib and Aleppo regions. 

Bachelet states, “This is a failure of leadership by the world’s most powerful nations, resulting in tragedy on such a vast scale that we no longer seem to be able to relate to it at all.”




OLIVIA HAMMOND is an undergraduate at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She studies Creative Writing, with minors in Sociology/Anthropology and Marketing. She has travelled to seven different countries, most recently studying abroad this past summer in the Netherlands. She has a passion for words, traveling, and learning in any form.