[Myanmar Civil Society Interview Series] ⑤ "What is the international community to Myanmar's MZ generation, who have experienced both pre- and post-democratization? ... A stage for democratization movements!"

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc1bBnI9oas

The <Strengthening Civil Society in Myanmar> project planned 'Again, Myanmar,' a civil society interview series that intensively listens to the stories of Korean and Myanmar civil society activists who have supported Myanmar's civil disobedience movement over the past year.

Su Tazin, General Secretary of the United Nationalities Alliance in Korea, presents that the reason Myanmar's MZ generation became the vanguard of anti-coup protests and democratization movements is because they have experienced both the era of military oppression and the era of reform and opening, and they grew up benefiting from globalization and informatization. While acknowledging that the SNS civil disobedience movement serves as a link between the democratic camp and the international community supporting Myanmar's democratization, she argues that considering the increasingly fierce information warfare with the military as the situation in Myanmar prolongs, all members of Myanmar's civil society must seek sustainable methods of civil disobedience, marking the first anniversary of the coup.

Interviewer Introduction

■ Su Tazin_General Secretary of the United Nationalities Alliance in Korea and activist of the Myanmar Students Association in Korea. She is of the Rakhine ethnicity, one of Myanmar's eight major ethnic groups, and is pursuing a master's degree in Civil Engineering at Inha University.

■ Responsible Editor: Jeon Juhyun_EAI Researcher

    Inquiries: 02 2277 1683 (ext. 204) | jhjun@eai.or.kr

Video Transcript

Hello, my name is Su Tazin, a Myanmar resident living in Korea. I am from the Rakhine ethnic group, one of Myanmar's eight major ethnic groups. I came to Korea to study in 2015 and graduated with a master's degree in Civil Engineering from Inha University in 2018. Since then, I have been working in Korea. Initially, my political activities were limited to participating in elections. After that, I became involved in overseas activities, and currently, I am working with two organizations.

These two organizations are the Myanmar Students Association in Korea and the United Nationalities Alliance in Korea. The students' association has about 30 members, and the alliance has about 10 members actively participating. I serve as a board member for the alliance. The United Nationalities Alliance in Korea is an organization formed by merging various Myanmar ethnic organizations in Korea. I am serving as the general secretary there. When the coup first occurred in Myanmar, I couldn't believe it.

I spoke with my mother on the phone. She told me that the situation in Myanmar was not good and that it could happen again. I told her, 'Mom, don't worry, this won't happen.' But the next morning, it suddenly happened. I couldn't even contact my mother. At first, I was terrified. Secondly, I was deeply saddened and angry. This is because we had experienced the military dictatorship in 2012. We had also experienced the reform and opening period, so we knew how unfair and how unfree that society was. We had no desire to return to that era.

The deep sadness was followed by anger and a sense of injustice. We felt we absolutely could not go back to that time. This is because, from 2011 onwards, we had transitioned to a democratic society and a society of freedom, and we understood what that society was like and that we could achieve things through our efforts. Therefore, the MZ generation, having lived through both eras, had more regrets and perhaps reacted more strongly to foreign affairs than previous generations.

Furthermore, in our generation, there are many students studying abroad, and we were exposed to different perspectives compared to the indoctrination we received in the past. By living in other countries and learning about their societies, we gained a lot of knowledge. Therefore, unlike previous generations, we realized that we should not only act within our own country but also raise our voices in the international community. We believed that this would garner international attention and support. I think these are some of the different perspectives and directions compared to previous generations. And as I mentioned earlier,

we are very familiar with both eras and have absolutely no desire to return. Therefore, we have a strong desire for change. I believe that it is our generation, the MZ generation, that is initiating this civil disobedience movement. The reason, as I mentioned earlier, is that we understand both eras. Since I am currently abroad, the work I can do is to inform the international community about our situation and to show the military that even though we are in other countries, we are not recognized.

We are engaged in protest activities to demonstrate this. Every weekend, we participate in demonstrations. Also, various religious groups in Korea have offered us support, such as providing resources or fundraising to help Myanmar. We participate in these activities with those groups and use the funds raised to support those engaged in the civil disobedience movement.

While it may not be a large contribution, it is what I can do within my capacity. Another aspect is that we are striving for democratization, but I believe we lack sufficient knowledge about it. Therefore, whenever opportunities arise, and thanks to the significant support from Korean society, we have had many opportunities to properly study democratization. Whenever such opportunities arise, I strive to learn more about what true democratization is, what efforts are needed to achieve it, and what tools are necessary.

Regarding the civil disobedience movement, I initially thought it was an excellent method because it seemed peaceful and did not involve violence. However, time has passed, and it has been nearly two years. The people participating in civil disobedience are doing so because they strongly refuse to live under the military regime, but they also need to make a living. The funds we provide, no matter how much we raise, are insufficient for them to sustain their livelihoods through civil disobedience. I worry if they can continue to hold out with just this support.

If this were to end overnight, it would be an excellent method. But now, due to the military's threats and various other circumstances, some people have returned to their work. As time passes, I question whether continuing this indefinitely is the best approach in a society like ours. Another point that disappointed me was that some people are continuing the civil disobedience movement, while others have stopped midway. As I mentioned, there are people who have returned to work.

This does not mean they support the military regime; they have various reasons and circumstances that lead them to return to work. However, a sense of alienation arises between those who continue the civil disobedience and those who have stopped, which I find regrettable. We are currently in a situation where we are all united, but if these differing experiences create conflict, I believe it would be detrimental. I deeply respect those who continue the civil disobedience movement and wish to support them as much as possible. However, due to their circumstances, some have returned to work. If we can understand this and unite, it would be more effective, as our collective action, even if it doesn't achieve immediate recognition from the military, is still a form of resistance.

I believe that if we unite and work together with mutual understanding, it would be more beneficial. Regarding the social media resistance movement, as I mentioned earlier, I believe it is a very effective method for gaining international attention. It allows us to see where citizens are protesting, where they are not, and where there are clashes, providing valuable information. Therefore, I consider it a very effective method.

However, there are also risks. Information spreads rapidly on social media, and not everyone who opposes the military regime is on social media; there are also supporters of the military. In some cases, students hiding in certain areas have been exposed and hired by informants due to information shared on social media. Therefore, while the social media resistance movement is excellent for raising international awareness about the situation in Myanmar, I believe we must be more cautious about disseminating information.

For those of us in other countries, it allows us to stay updated on the real-time situation in Myanmar, which is beneficial. However, it is a method that requires caution. I believe it would be even better if those of us in other countries and the Myanmar diaspora could collaborate more effectively on social media resistance. Due to the pandemic, many people cannot go out or participate in protests, so we are engaging in online protests and other activities to show the international community that we are continuously resisting.

It means that it is not becoming quiet, nor are we giving up, and I believe this is the only way to continue to inform people. However, for citizens within our country, as I mentioned earlier, they cannot upload all information and need to be aware of what information can be uploaded and what should be concealed. I wish there was some guidance from the authorities on this. Also, given the current situation where attention is being paid to the conflict, if one piece of information is leaked, it could lead to retaliation against those in the region, or harm to their families, so we must proceed with caution. However, for those of us in other countries, we should utilize this method effectively to raise our voices so that the international community can continue to pay attention. Yes, this has been a question that has been worrying me as well.

In Myanmar, students have been unable to attend school for two years due to the pandemic and the coup. Initially, many believed that once vaccinated, they could return to school. However, now, due to the pandemic and the coup, even with vaccinations, they cannot attend school. Consequently, students are increasingly losing hope and feeling despair. Therefore, out of concern for this situation, we, students currently in Korea, are creating a website to share knowledge with students in Myanmar through online platforms.

We are gathering students in Korea who are pursuing master's and doctoral degrees and having them teach subjects they wish to learn. While we may not be able to provide professional-level education, we hope that by sharing our knowledge, students will regain some hope. We have also opened up our democratization classes to students in Myanmar, and I am very grateful to the Korean organizations for this opportunity.

I hope that by developing themselves even in small ways, they can continue to pursue their dreams without giving them up. Furthermore, there are students who cannot attend school and adolescents who have joined the People's Defence Force. It is heartbreaking to see them give up their dreams and take up arms for their country. While they are fighting, they also have dreams of singing, playing music, and other simple aspirations.

I hope for a day when they can achieve these dreams. Moreover, clashes are occurring between the military and the People's Defence Force, leading to a significant number of refugees fleeing to border areas. The children living in these refugee camps also have their own simple dreams. I hope these dreams can be realized and that a day will come when they can be fulfilled. Recently, I saw some heartbreaking photos on social media that I would like to share.

The first photo shows a girl crying. I explained it as: 'I want to go to school, but I can't, so I'm crying.' The second photo is of a child drawing a picture. The explanation was: 'I want to ride a bicycle. I wish I had the opportunity to ride one, but I don't, so I'm crying.' Another photo shows a soccer field. The explanation was: 'I love soccer, but we don't have a field in the refugee camp, so I can't play. I want to play soccer.' There are also drawings of children and houses. The explanation for the drawing of houses was: 'I want to go back home. I miss my old house so much, so I'm crying.' The first photo shows a girl crying again, this time in front of a school building. The explanation was: 'I really want to go to school, but there is no school in the refugee camp, and I can't go because of the coup and the pandemic, so I'm crying.' These dreams, whether it's wanting to go to school, ride a bicycle, play soccer, or return home, are very simple and fundamental. When we see these children's hearts breaking because they cannot even fulfill these basic dreams due to the brutal military regime, our hearts are torn apart. Therefore, we must win this fight.

We must strive to win, and I hope that all the youth and children in Myanmar will be able to freely pursue their dreams. Yes, the situation in Myanmar is becoming increasingly complex. However, the political situation in our country has always been complex. We simply did not understand it properly. Since the transition to a democratic society, the situation has been complex, but we believed that our country was truly moving towards genuine democratization.

We are striving to make this possible, and I hope that all the youth and children in Myanmar can freely pursue their dreams. Yes, that's right. The situation in Myanmar is becoming increasingly complex. However, the political situation in our country has always been more complicated. We just didn't know it properly. Since the transition to a democratic society in our country, things have frankly been complex. But we didn't know it properly and truly believed that our country was achieving true democratization.

However, this was not the case. We thought it was genuine democratization, but it was merely a temporary pause by the military, a brief respite they allowed us. We did not realize this. In the current situation, it is crucial for students in Myanmar and for us abroad to understand history correctly. We need to learn about the complexities of our history, the historical events our country has experienced, the reasons behind the repeated coups, and why coups continue to occur. We need to learn more about these aspects.

Furthermore, while we are constantly calling for democratization, I believe there is much we need to learn about democratization itself. We need to understand what democratization truly means and why we desire it. Simply wanting to be free from the military regime is a valid sentiment, but it is a general aspiration. When we are free from the military regime, it does not automatically mean we will have a democratic society. To achieve a genuine democratic society, we must study what knowledge and elements are necessary.

I also believe we need to unite more than ever. Currently, although we oppose the military regime, our efforts seem fragmented by region. Therefore, it is crucial that these dispersed forces unite into a single, powerful force. To achieve this, we, the youth, must make efforts. In a recent class, we learned about the roles various organizations played in past democratization movements and how they operated to contribute to the cause. This has provided an opportunity to learn. By applying this knowledge, we can form organizations, unite these organizations, and create a situation where they can work together as a unified force. We need to explore this further and actively study it.

Regarding the Arab Spring, it was a successful outcome in the Arab world. However, I believe that the path to democracy may not be the same for every country. The circumstances of each nation are different. While a method may have succeeded at a particular time, it may not succeed in our country. Especially in our country, the military has been in power for a very long time.

Therefore, the citizens are deeply accustomed to military rule. They know how to react to threats or coercion from the military. Thus, I believe it may be difficult to achieve success using the same methods. What we can do is study the histories of other countries, understand their methods, and adapt them to our country's specific situation and context.

Initially, we had high hopes for the international community and the ASEAN region, believing they would not discriminate against us and would help us. However, as time passed, we realized the limitations of the international community. We understood that even with the desire to help, there were circumstances, conditions, and rules that constrained them. We came to the conclusion that the situation in Myanmar must be resolved primarily through our own efforts.

However, I have a request: even if Asian countries cannot provide direct assistance to the Myanmar people, I hope they will not collaborate with the Myanmar military. Recently, news emerged of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen meeting with the Myanmar military leader. It is not only those who are being oppressed who need to be saved; those who shake hands with the oppressors also become complicit. Therefore, I urge Asian countries not to collaborate with the Myanmar military and to refrain from providing them with assistance.

Furthermore, I believe that dictatorship and coups are like infectious diseases that can spread from one region to another. Therefore, the elimination of dictatorships in one region can contribute to a more peaceful world. I urge you to pay a little more attention to this. The people of Myanmar, like people everywhere, deserve to live in peace. I implore you to pay a little more attention, more than you are currently, to help us achieve this.

Finally, as two years have passed, there are moments of despair and times when we feel disheartened. However, no matter how difficult it gets, we do not want to give up. We know that this situation cannot be resolved overnight, and I believe people in Myanmar also understand this. When people within the country feel tired and discouraged, we in the international community think of you and try to support you. And when we feel weary, we remember the hardships faced by the people within the country and persevere. We know that we can win with our own strength.

Therefore, let us work together, and I want to conclude by saying that we will strive for a day when we can return to a free Myanmar, a democratic Myanmar, and live happily with our families and friends. And I want to see a Myanmar that has achieved a revolution. Yes, a Myanmar revolution.