Myanmar protests (2021–present)

Myanmar protests (2021–present)
Part of the Myanmar civil war (2021–present)
Clockwise from top:
  • Thousands of protesters participating in an anti-junta rally in Yangon
  • Protesters posing with the three-finger salute
  • Protesters in a vehicle with anti-military slogans
  • A group of protesters forming a human chain in Yangon's Kamayut Township
  • A group of protesters denouncing Min Aung Hlaing, orchestrator of the 2021 coup and current leader, and waving the NLD flag
Date2 February 2021 – present
Location
Caused by2021 Myanmar coup d'état
Goals
MethodsDemonstrations, strikes, civil disobedience, online activism, protest art, riots
StatusOngoing
Parties
Lead figures
  • Protesters:
  • No centralised leadership

Casualties
Death(s)6,807 protesters (per AAPP)
47 police officers and 7 soldiers
(per SAC; as of 23 May 2021)
Detained22,131 detained currently, (per AAPP)

Protests in Myanmar, known locally as the Spring Revolution (Burmese: နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေး, Burmese pronunciation: [nwè.ú.tɔ̀.l̥àɰ̃.jé]), began in early 2021 in opposition to the coup d'état on 1 February, staged by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, the Tatmadaw. As of 23 June 2022, at least 2000 protesters have been killed, 14,000 arrested and 700,000 displaced by the military junta.

Protesters mostly employed peaceful and nonviolent forms of protest, which included acts of civil disobedience, labour strikes, a military boycott campaign, a pot-banging movement, a red ribbon campaign, public protests, and formal recognition of the election results by elected representatives. The colour red, which is associated with the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been donned by many protesters. "Kamba Ma Kyay Buu", a song that was first popularised as the anthem of the 8888 Uprising (1988), has been revitalised by the civil disobedience movement as a protest song. The three-finger salute has been widely adopted by protesters as a protest symbol.

In response to the growing protest movement, the military leaders of the coup enacted a number of countermeasures. These included internet and social media blackouts, a media blackout, pursuit of arrests and criminal sentences against protesters, the spread of disinformation, political overtures to competing political parties to participate in the self-appointed State Administration Council (to replace the elected government body), deployment of pro-military protesters and instigators, and the violent use of force to suppress protests.

Armed insurgencies by the People's Defence Force of the National Unity Government have erupted throughout Myanmar in response to the military government's crackdown on anti-coup protests.