In France, Burma, renamed Myanmar by the dictatorship, is only mentioned about every four years. Massacres, genocide, and natural disasters make the headlines, then are forgotten. Yet history doesn't stop, and the struggles continue, for greater democratic freedom, for better wages, or simply for the right to live. ---- Myanmar is a country that unfolds around the Irrawaddy River. On either side of it rise dense mountains bordering India and Bangladesh to the west, China to the north, and Thailand and Laos to the east. Located too far north of the Strait of Malaga, Myanmar is on the periphery of major maritime routes. A former British colony, it served as a rice granary, feeding parts of India and the United Kingdom.
This territory, home to 135 different ethnic groups, is 70% Bamar. The same distribution is observed for religions, which are closely linked to ethnic identity. Islam, Christianity, and various animist beliefs are practiced, but three-quarters of the population are Buddhist. Following British colonization, which ended in 1948, a series of coups d'état ensued, and power fell into the hands of an army called the Tatmadaw. This army implemented a program combining state socialism, Bamar nationalism, and Buddhist theocracy. In this context, the military hierarchy functioned as a capitalist bourgeoisie.
2010 and the mirage of democratization
After brutally suppressing the July 2008 uprisings, the military junta decided to initiate a process of democratization. The primary objective was to reduce the economic sanctions that were crippling the country and to attract new capital to revive the economy. Elections were held in 2010, resulting in a strong majority for the USDP [1], a pro-military party. With 25% of the seats reserved for the military, the USDP maintained total control of power and began liberalizing the economy. The country opened up, and censorship eased. Conflicts with various ethnic groups subsided, and several autonomist organizations signed ceasefires. However, in response to this liberalization, nationalism intensified. The 969 Movement [2], led by the monk Ashin Wirathu, gained momentum and redirected all economic and social criticism toward Muslims.
The 2015 elections saw a victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD), a center-right neoliberal party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. A renowned figure of non-violent opposition and a global icon for Western democracies, she held multiple ministerial posts. The USDP remained a significant party, and several other ethnic parties had elected representatives, but for the first time since independence, no Muslim representative held power.
As Yangon, the economic capital, opens up to the world, the army joins in the ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, a region in the west of the country bordering Bangladesh. The massacres leave tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced . Numerous reports document mass rape and infanticide, and other pogrom-like horrors. In Burma, a few isolated organizations protest these massacres. Abroad, Aung San Suu Kyi denies everything. Her power depends on the military, which controls the key ministries. But it is also the Bamar nationalist ideology that prevails: a true Burmese is Buddhist. The 2020 elections confirm the indifference to the massacres, and the NLD sweeps the board, winning 82% of the seats.
On February 1 , 2021, the Tatmadaw overthrew the new government. The army seized control of government buildings and preemptively arrested over 200 activists. Members of parliament were confined to the government's residential complex in Naypyidaw. Internet access was regularly cut off and communications jammed.
In 2021, the Spring Revolution
From February 2nd, the population reacted in a democratic and peaceful manner, reminiscent of popular uprisings such as the Arab Spring. It began with the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). Public services were shut down, and people boycotted numerous products from companies run by the military - SIM cards, beer, cigarettes, and more. Life came to a standstill, and only the clanging of pots and pans at 8 p.m. signaled the population's anger.
On February 4, the members of parliament were sent home under surveillance. But some of them took a kind of " tennis oath ," creating the basis for a government in exile. On the 6th, the first major demonstration took place. It was led by female textile factory workers and the Myanmar Garment Workers' Federation. The three-finger gesture (index, middle, and ring fingers raised) was borrowed from the Thai social movement. During these first demonstrations, the role of the unions was crucial. They broke the web of isolation and paranoia by providing a rallying point.
The movement then spread throughout the country and gained momentum. The pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and Thailand were studied for inspiration. Oppressed people, previously invisible in the streets of the economic capital, donned their traditional clothing, and even the Rohingya were accepted in the marches.
Demonstration in Burma against the military coup on February 14, 2021.
NgHla
From peaceful revolt to armed action
The Tatmadaw initially attempted to discredit the movement by portraying it as the result of foreign interference and imposing bans on gatherings. After the surprise of February 6, tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets were increasingly used. On the 9th, the army crossed the line. A bullet pierced the scooter helmet of 19-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khine. The assassin was a high-ranking officer who had taken the time to aim carefully. Counter-insurgency units were recalled to the city. Several thousand prisoners, including the ultranationalist leader of the 969 movement, were released by the military. By day, demonstrations continued, and by night, people disappeared.
Faced with the need for self-defense, the peaceful revolt gradually transformed, and the people armed themselves. Demonstrators fashioned metal shields and barricades for protection and retaliated against live ammunition with slingshots, Molotov cocktails, and bows. In the countryside, hunters used their old rifles to harass the soldiers. On March 8, women spread their htamein (traditional loincloths) across the streets. The superstitious soldiers dared not pass beneath them for fear of becoming impotent, but the violence continued to escalate. More than 50 workers were killed in working-class neighborhoods.
In response, Chinese textile factories went up in flames. The street movement subsided under repression. Urban guerrilla groups formed, planting bombs and executing those involved in the repression. But the cities remained army territory. Those who could left, joining existing ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) or creating new fighting groups.
Coordinate the revolution
In the years following the start of the revolution, the insurgents took the initiative and seized control of large swathes of the country, primarily mountainous and forested areas. However, the army, thanks to its air superiority and modern weaponry, maintained control over cities and major transportation routes. Since then, the situation appears to have stagnated. Myanmar's economy has collapsed, leading to rampant inflation and energy shortages. According to the latest UN report, 24% of the population is at risk of famine, while the army has used the 2025 earthquake as an opportunity to increase its pressure.
Members of the NLD and the 2020 elected officials who were not arrested formed the " Committee Representing the Union Assembly, " which later transformed into a government-in-exile called the " Government of National Unity ." This government is now an offshoot of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), which brings together representatives of civil society organizations, trade unions, political parties, and ethnic groups. Its stated objective is the creation of a federal democracy. To coordinate EAO operations and armed groups, primarily communist, the " Alliance of the Three Brotherhoods " emerged. Alongside this, the " People's Defense Forces " (PDF) were formed, encompassing a large portion of the new militias, bound together by an oath of mutual allegiance.
International reactions
From the outset of the coup, the military junta faced a series of sanctions and diplomatic pressures imposed by Western superpowers. Most European interests withdrew from Burmese territory, such as Total, one of the main producers of Burmese oil, and Airbus, which sold its shares to Chinese companies supplying arms to the regime.
Of course, the junta has other backers. Russia supplies it with weapons, and Iran provides the kerosene essential for maintaining its air superiority. If Burma is prey to imperialism, it is primarily that of China. China has numerous interests in the country. Economically, it is building hydroelectric dams to power its territory, owns textile factories, and exploits rare earth elements and precious stones. Geopolitically, Burma could also serve as a transit route to bypass the Strait of Malacca [3].
From a security perspective, these border areas are a haven for drug lords and organized crime. These groups operate under the authority of warlords selected by the Tatmadaw. Straddling Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand lies the Golden Triangle, a former opium production center, now modernized for synthetic drugs, human trafficking, and cyber scams. Small towns entirely dedicated to this last activity have sprung up, exploiting a slave workforce to defraud Chinese citizens.
In this situation, China initially dealt with both sides. The rebels, dependent on arms supplies from China, sought to strengthen ties by attacking cyber-scam centers. But since 2024, the Chinese government appears to have definitively sided with the junta, which, for its part, has dismantled several online scam centers.
Thousands of protesters participate in an anti-junta rally in Yangon, February 2021.
VOA Burmese
The necessity of libertarian communalism
The majority of revolutionary forces are primarily divided between nationalists, communists, and liberals. However, the disintegration of the state and the fragmentation of the territory have led to the development of practices akin to libertarian communalism. Village assemblies, self-administration, and coordination of Democratic Forces of the People (DFP) groups have emerged from the conflict, giving rise to a democratic federalism. In Chin State, members of the Chin National Front and the Chinland Defense Forces are leading the formation of local governments using a " bottom-up approach " that reflects tribal practices, involving tribal elders in the decision-making process. In the same state, an internationalist unit modeled on the Kurdish system has been created: the Anti-Fascist Internationalist Front.
This obviously presents some problems: state forces are trying to establish a foothold there. Furthermore, the funding system for these administrations is based on taxes collected on the roads, practices that are more akin to extortion. And in Arakan, almost entirely liberated from Tamadaw, Islamophobic violence and discrimination persist, sometimes directly perpetrated by the revolutionaries.
Why is the Burmese revolution not being discussed ?
Burma seems very distant to us, both geographically and culturally. This former British colony remains secondary in the current economic order, and mass tourism is not developed there. The European far right has long supported the struggle of the Karen, a Christian people living in the east who have been fighting for self-determination since the country's independence. The left has therefore withdrawn from the discussion, not wanting to appear to be supporting a common cause with the far right. One might also wonder whether the Cambodian experience has not instilled a fear of revolutionary movements in Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, the revolutionaries are officially supported by the West, which is a source of discomfort for the conservative left and far left, particularly those who identify as pro-Chinese. Finally, the junta effectively controls the media and the internet, restricting access to images and ensuring that the ongoing civil war is conducted behind closed doors.
Committee to Support the Revolution in Burma
To validate
[1] Nationalist and conservative party known for its close ties with the military.
[2] Far-right Buddhist movement seeking to exterminate Muslims.
[3] Maritime corridor located between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a major gateway to international trade.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Asie-du-Sud-Est-En-Birmanie-une-guerre-revolutionnaire-oubliee
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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