Webinar Series: Listening to Voices from Myanmar
Webinar Series: Listening to Voices from Myanmar
Session 6: Youth & Digital Freedom in Myanmar – Voices from the Frontlines
October 3, 2024 (Thursday) 19:00-20:30 JST
Since the military attempted a coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, the country has been thrown into chaos with over 3 million internally displaced persons as the military’s oppression and escalating conflicts with ethnic revolutionary organizations intensifies. The death toll from the military crackdown has climbed to over 5,500 people. While Japan is the largest aid donor to Myanmar, it has not exerted its influence in the correct manner, while continuing its Official Development Assistance (ODA) after the coup attempt and supplying public funds to businesses related to the military. Moreover, the situation in regions inhabited by ethnic minorities who have long sought autonomy and the voices of people with diverse backgrounds have not been well understood in Japan.
This webinar seminars is co-hosted by the #NoMoreBusinessWithJunta campaign organizers (Mekong Watch, ayus:Network of Buddhists Volunteers on International Cooperation, Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), and Network Against Japan Arms Trade (NAJAT)) with Progressive Voice. The webinar series intends to amplify voices of the people of Myanmar to Japan. We will discuss and hear ground updates, historical background of conflicts, situation in ethnic minority areas, and what the civil society from Myanmar expects from the Japanese government and society, featuring Myanmar activists and NGO staff as guest speakers.
Session 6: Youth & Digital Freedom in Myanmar – Voices from the Frontlines
Youth in Myanmar have emerged as the driving force of a revolution sparked by the military’s illegal coup attempt in February 2021. Their defiance represents one of the most intersectional movements against the brutal military in Myanmar’s history. In response, the military has targeted and committed horrific atrocities against people across the country, including the killing of hundreds of young people, with at least 110 of them being children under the age of nine.
The digital sphere has been a key element of resistance in Myanmar, particularly for the youth who have used the space to galvanize support from domestic and international actors for the revolution. The military has extended their war against the Myanmar people into the digital sphere in what UN experts have called an attempt to establish a “digital dictatorship”, characterized by severe internet and phone line restrictions, online censorship, surveillance, and other oppressive tactics. Under these conditions Japanese telecommunication businesses KDDI Group and Sumitomo Corporation have jointly operated Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), under the control of the junta. These businesses have complied with the military junta’s surveillance programs, allowing the military to access personal data and intercept communications without warrants and legal oversight, endangering activists and netizens. By providing a source of revenue and surveillance capabilities to the military junta, Japanese businesses are complicit in grave human rights violations.
In our sixth session of the webinar series “Listening to Voices from Myanmar”, we will hear directly from Zee Pe, Executive Director of Athan – a non-profit championing freedom of expression in Myanmar. She will share her experience as one of the youths in Myanmar’s Spring Revolution and her organization’s work in documenting the junta’s violations of freedom of expression and media freedom in Myanmar. Zee Pe is joined by Kyi Nyein, Secretary of Queers of Burma Alternative, who will share their insights as part of the LGBTIQ+ community and the Gen Z movement that has galvanized Myanmar’s revolution. Kyi Nyein will share their hopes for an inclusive federal democratic future for Myanmar.
Many lessons can be learned from today’s movements, characterized by a decentralized and multi-faceted approach. Join us in deepening our understanding of these dynamics and discovering how the Japanese public and government can stand in solidarity with Myanmar’s younger generation as they lead the country’s movement toward a multi-ethnic, -sectorial, -generational, and -class resistance for federal democracy.
Date and Time
October 3, 2024 (Thursday) 19:00-20:30 JST
Where
Online Event (Zoom Webinar)
Language
English (with simultaneous Japanese interpretation)
Participation Fee
Free
Registration Form
https://x.gd/PEtui
Speaker
Zee Pe
Kyi Nyein
Speaker Profiles
Zee Pe
Zee Pe is the Executive Director of Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization, who has been working on Myanmar human rights issues for more than ten years. She had been actively involved in prominent human rights-based organizations in the previous decade before she joined Athan. With her experiences, she joined Athan as a consultant since the foundation in 2018, then she worked full-time for Athan a year later. She actively organized a series of protests on the freedom of expression issues and was energetically involved in writing research papers. After the coup in 2021, she became an Executive Director of Athan, now leading Athan in human rights and advocacy work for Myanmar. Zee Pe and Athan’s team members gradually moved to Thailand at the end of 2021 due to their activism work.
Kyi Nyein
Kyi Nyein is a youth queer activist, currently serving as the Secretary of Queers of Burma Alternative (QBA). Kyi has been deeply involved in activism since 2018, focusing on LGBT+ rights, anti-militarism, youth activism, and environmentalism. Despite the violence caused by the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, Kyi has continued to advocate for social justice, working as a steering committee member in the General Strike Committee of Myanmar, and providing humanitarian assistance in displacement areas such as northern Shan and Karenni States. Kyi’s extensive experience includes roles such as a Policy Affairs Officer at Students Union and Assistant Secretary at the Youth Affairs Committee under a civilian government. Their passion for environmentalism earned them recognition as the South East Asia Youth Cleanup Ambassador 2019. In addition to their activism, Kyi is an accomplished podcast maker, focusing on LGBT+ voices in Myanmar, and has worked with various organizations on research and advocacy intersectionality among the pro-democratic groups.
Co-organized by
#NoMoreBusinessWithJunta campaign organizers (Mekong Watch, ayus:Network of Buddhists Volunteers on International Cooperation, Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), and Network Against Japan Arms Trade (NAJAT)) with Progressive Voice
Contact
Mekong Watch [email protected]
Relevant resources
KDDI Group and Sumitomo Corporation: Do not facilitate human rights abuses by Burma’s illegitimate regime (Open Letter to KDDI and Sumitomo Corporation, 18 October, 2021)
http://www.mekongwatch.org/PDF/rq_20211018_Eng.pdf
Daily briefings, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
https://coup.aappb.org/
