Opponents of Myanmar’s military administration on Wednesday carried out a coordinated silent strike, urging citizens to remain indoors as a symbolic rejection of national elections slated for later this month.
The protest took place despite the risk of severe punishment for any action deemed to interfere with the polls. The junta has already filed legal cases against 10 prominent pro-democracy activists who last week held a rare flash-mob demonstration in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
Critics argue that the December 28 election lacks credibility, saying the process is designed to provide a veneer of legitimacy to the military, which toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The General Strike Coordination Body, a leading non-violent resistance organization, called for citizens to observe a “silent strike” on Wednesday. People were asked to remain inside homes, offices or workplaces between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to mark International Human Rights Day. Similar silent protests have periodically taken place since the 2021 takeover.
Photos circulating on social media showed unusually quiet streets in Yangon, the country’s commercial hub, and in several other cities.
Meanwhile, the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper reported that authorities were seeking the arrest of the 10 activists under provisions of a new election law that impose up to 10 years’ imprisonment for disrupting the electoral process.
The activists are accused of distributing anti-election leaflets in a crowded Mandalay market on December 3. Their brief, spontaneous rally drew significant attention because public demonstrations in Mandalay have become nearly impossible under heavy security and routine crackdowns. Many participants made no attempt to conceal their identities as they chanted slogans and scattered flyers.
Those charged include well-known activists Tayzar San, Nan Lin and Khant Wai Phyo. They had urged the public to reject the polls, oppose the military’s conscription law and demand the release of political detainees.
Tayzar San — a doctor-turned-activist who organized the first major anti-military protest in Mandalay days after the 2021 coup — has been a key figure in the civil resistance. An arrest warrant has been pending against him for years.
Speaking to AP following last week’s protest, he said the public’s participation demonstrates that “even after five years, people have not become passive nor surrendered under the repressive mechanisms of the military dictatorship.”
Independent Myanmar media, including the Democratic Voice of Burma, reported earlier that authorities had warned shop owners of arrest if they participated in Wednesday’s silent shutdown.