Myanmar Protests Focus on Economic Support of Junta
State railroad workers in Myanmar continued to strike Thursday despite a police rampage against them the night before in a sign of the military junta’s concern over the growing civil disobedience of public workers protesting the coup.
Three-quarters of the country’s officials are on strike, all private banks are closed, and the protests have significantly weakened the economy, said Tom Andrews, the UN’s independent human rights expert on Myanmar.
Andrews said in an interview from Virginia, where he lives, that protesters have significantly weakened the economy and are seeking action from the international community.
The most important thing the international community can do now “is specific, specific and tough economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure,” he said.
Aggressive actions by security forces Wednesday night in a Mandalay neighborhood where state rail workers are located reflected the increased focus of the protests on businesses and government institutions that sustain the economy.
Railroad workers began their strike on Sunday, joining a civil disobedience movement started by medical workers that is the backbone of resistance to the February 1 coup that toppled the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Truckers have also carried out work stoppages.
The railroad strike has received the support of ordinary citizens who have stood on the train tracks to stop the trains that the military has taken over.
Efforts by Mandalay residents to block a rail line on Wednesday apparently sparked retaliation that night.
Less than an hour after the curfew began at 8 p.m. Wednesday, shots were heard as more than two dozen men in police uniforms with shields and helmets marched in tight formation in front of the railroad workers’ homes.
Numerous videos posted on social media showed mouth flashes when shots were heard, and some policemen fired slingshots and threw stones at buildings.
Marching chants from “left, right, left, right” could be heard along with shouts of “shoot, shoot.”
Several reports included photos of people with minor injuries, which they said were caused by rubber bullets. Unconfirmed reports said that several railroad workers were arrested.
A labor activist said that many people believe that the disobedience movement is an effective way to overthrow the junta, and that is why it has drawn support from government workers in the health, education, and transportation sectors, as well as from private workers such as bank employees and engineers.
Factory workers joined the initial protest marches, but their financial circumstances prevent them from participating every day, he said on condition of anonymity to protect their own safety.
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