3/30/22, 3:07 PM Digitally Fueled Civil Resistance and Repression in Myanmar - Political Violence at a Glance to the Black Lives Matter movement, and recent research shows that digital communication can catalyze protest movements. But can the Internet help defend Myanmar’s democracy? DIGITAL MOBILIZATION IN POST-COUP MYANMAR Digital technology is being used across Myanmar to resist the coup. Politicians formed a parliament over Zoom, and a first virtual parliamentary session convened on February 4 and formed a committee representing parliament. “We can call for a Hluttaw (local name for parliament) meeting anywhere, anytime, where the committee members are,” said Phyu Phyu Thin, an elected MP. Social media are also used by activists and protestors who use messaging apps to coordinate the time and location of protests. Says one university graduate in Yangon: “We used to use the Facebook messenger but found out that it is not safe enough.” She and her friends switch between various apps for coordination and information sharing. Internet access helps spread information across the country. Sharing news of protests and state responses has seemingly created a degree of coordination among an otherwise decentralized movement. Even in remote areas, people are seeing videos and images of protests—and violent crackdowns—on their mobile phones. The urban-rural divide is evident in protest participation, but information sharing through social media has narrowed the gap with street protests and disruption observed across the country. For instance, a day after the “broke down car” tactic to block critical road connections was reported in Yangon, the same tactic was repeated in Muse, 800 km from Yangon, blocking a crucial China-Myanmar border trade route. An activist based in the conflict-affected Kachin State explains, “We are watching the situations in Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw, and Mandalay to organize protests here. Everyone knows what is going on.” The situation is a stark contrast to previous uprisings in 1988 https://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2021/03/01/digitally-fueled-civil-resistance-and-repression-in-myanmar/ 2/9