“Egg strike” on Easter Sunday.
By Francis Khoo Thwe
Apr 8 2021
Protesters use painted eggs with pro-democracy writing. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and members of the various ethnic groups show unity against the military coup. One person was killed yesterday in Sagaing. So far, the military has killed at least 564 people. German firm stops supplying Myanmar’s mint. ASEAN’s current chair, Brunei, proposes a meeting to deal with the situation in Myanmar with support from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
YANGON – In several cities across Myanmar, protesters launched an “egg strike” on Easter Sunday, as the international community, especially the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), tries to find ways to defuse tensions in Myanmar.
On Sunday, protesters marched waving their three-finger salute, holding a painted egg in their hands; some laid the eggs along the road; others handed out the eggs with pro-democracy writing to passers-by.
In cities like Yangon and Mandalay, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, as well as members of various ethnic groups took part in the “Easter” rally in a show of unity against the military coup.
On Monday, protesters clapped together to honour “ethnic armed organisations and Gen Z youths [. . .] fighting in the revolution,” wrote a protest organiser on Facebook.
In the central region of Sagaing, one person was killed when security forces tried to break up a rally. According to local sources, the military has killed at least 564 people so far.
The ongoing protests and the show of unity between groups are prompting several foreign companies to put on hold their business dealings with Myanmar.
German-based Giesecke-Devrient has stopped supplying banknotes to the country’s mint. Some companies in Japan and South Korea have also cut ties with Myanmar.
South Korea is particularly critical of the junta. President Moon Jae-in repeatedly called for an end to “the use of violence against the people of Myanmar.”
South Korea’s National Assembly and some South Korean local government officials have compared Myanmar’s journey from military dictatorship to democracy to that of their own country, which saw clashes and fighting between the military and defenceless civilians during its transition to democracy.
So far ASEAN has only called for an end to violence, upholding the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of a member state. However, as tensions rise, events in Myanmar could impact neighbouring countries.
Since several ASEAN countries are also military dictatorships or non-democracies, unrest in Myanmar might stir demands for democracy within their own borders. At the same time, thousands of Myanmar refugees might cross into their territory.
For this reason, ASEAN’s current chair, Brunei, proposed a meeting of the Association to discuss the situation in Myanmar, probably in Jakarta.
Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have agreed to the meeting, as has Singapore. But so far no date has been announced. – AsiaNews
