Who buys and controls the CCTV? Back to contents 22 Protests against the military coup have taken place on streets across almost all cities in Myanmar since February 2021, often occurring organically and spontaneously in many municipalities and large cities. Since the beginning of the coup, thousands of people have organised peaceful civil disobedience movements, boycotts, and protests in the early days, and armed struggles at the later stage, to resist the coup and demand the return of democratic rule and the release of the people detained. Over a year after the coup, peaceful protests are being cracked down on brutally and inhumanely by security and police forces deployed by Tatmadaw. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) reported as of 1 October 2021 that there were 1,146 people killed, 8,584 arrested, and 6,921 detained in relation to the military coup since 1 February 2021.28 The military’s Ministry of Transport and Communications announced it would include codes of regions and townships of a vehicle’s licence plate as a ‘security feature’ starting by the end of July 2021.29 After the military took power in February 2021, the Tatmadaw took command of the CCTV control centres across Myanmar, making CCTVs a new kind of weapon when repressive forces seize central authorities. Concerns around the chilling effect of CCTVs on freedom of expression arose almost immediately – people protesting against the coup raised concerns that the military was using these systems ‘like a digital dictatorship – the regime is using technology to track and arrest citizens, and that’s dangerous’.30 Responding to concerns about the increasing use of surveillance technology, Huawei has maintained that they merely provide ‘standard ICT infrastructure equipment’.31 “CCTV installation in Myanmar’s smart cities is part of a longer legacy of surveillance. Since February 2021 the military has turned these cameras into a weapon – to track and arrest those who dissent.”