{"id":2233,"date":"2022-04-22T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T05:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/myanmar-international-community-must-do-more-to-protect-brave-protesters\/"},"modified":"2024-11-11T14:00:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T07:00:51","slug":"myanmar-international-community-must-do-more-to-protect-brave-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/news\/2022\/04\/myanmar-international-community-must-do-more-to-protect-brave-protesters\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar: International community must do more to protect brave protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Failure to stop violence one year after ASEAN\u2019s\u00a0adoption of its\u00a0Five-Point Consensus\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Activists inside Myanmar resorting to flash mobs and silent strikes to avoid crackdown\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Plainclothes military forces disguise themselves as fruit sellers and trishaw drivers\u00a0as part of\u00a0the repressive surveillance\u00a0system\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Military retaliates against family members of activists\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Myanmar\u2019s brave activists are still pursuing peaceful protests despite grave danger and numerous challenges, Amnesty International said today, one year after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations&nbsp;(ASEAN)&nbsp;adopted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/aseans-five-point-peace-agreement-crisis-myanmar-2022-02-17\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a Five-Point Consensus<\/a>&nbsp;that has abjectly failed to stop the violence in the country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent months, Amnesty International&nbsp;conducted in-depth&nbsp;interviews&nbsp;with&nbsp;17 people who have continued to take part in non-violent protests across five of Myanmar\u2019s states and regions. The interviewees were from a diverse array of protest groups, including LGBTQ and women\u2019s rights organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most popular methods of protesting has been \u201cflash mobs\u201d where activists run through the streets for a few minutes before dispersing to avoid being shot,&nbsp;arrested&nbsp;or run over by military vehicles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The public has also held \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myanmar-now.org\/en\/news\/myanmar-defies-junta-rule-with-nationwide-silent-strike\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">silent strikes<\/a>\u201d across the country, during which shops and businesses shut down, roads emptied, and people stayed home to show defiance to military rule.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Myanmar, activists and human rights defenders have been distributing pamphlets on buses, posting messages against the military on walls with stickers or spray paint, and encouraging&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irrawaddy.com\/news\/burma\/myanmar-militarys-joint-venture-brewery-to-be-dissolved-after-product-boycott.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">boycotts<\/a>&nbsp;of goods and services with ties to the military.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese activists urgently need the support of the international community in the form of a global arms embargo to stop the Myanmar military from using weapons of warfare to kill&nbsp;peaceful protesters,\u201d said&nbsp;Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International\u2019s Deputy Regional Director for Research.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote is-lined\"><p><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\">These activists urgently need the support of the international community in the form of a global arms embargo to stop the Myanmar military from using weapons of warfare to kill&nbsp;peaceful protesters.<\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal\">Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International\u2019s Deputy Regional Director for Research<\/cite><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<cite>Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty International\u2019s Deputy Regional Director for Research<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe ASEAN must call on the Myanmar military authorities to immediately stop all violence against peaceful protestors in line with the stalled Five-Point Consensus. It should do so now to prevent the Myanmar people from further suffering.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&nbsp;must also&nbsp;continue to&nbsp;unequivocally condemn all human rights violations in Myanmar and call for the release of all individuals who are arbitrarily detained.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cTHEY TRIED TO HIT ME\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><div style=\"position:relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"aiic-ignore wp-image-4067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-900x600.png 900w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-734x490.png 734w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-108x72.png 108w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-216x144.png 216w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-60x40.png 60w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-120x80.png 120w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-200x133.png 200w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-400x267.png 400w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-260x173.png 260w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-520x347.png 520w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-325x217.png 325w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-5-650x434.png 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>JC<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the days immediately following the coup, Amnesty International and many other human rights groups urged the military to stop the use of unlawful and lethal force against peaceful protesters. The violence has since prompted many to join armed resistance groups, which are active throughout the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amnesty International has called on the military to exercise restraint, abide by international law, and for law enforcement duties to be fully resumed by police.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These calls have gone unheeded. More than 1,700 people have now been killed, and more than 13,000 arrested since the military took power, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Activists and human rights defenders interviewed by Amnesty International described witnessing or experiencing abuses by military forces while demonstrating, including shootings, beatings, and attempts to ram vehicles into protests.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The brutal response of the military had an enormous impact on the nonviolent protest movement. During the latter part of 2021, there was a noticeable decrease in the number of people who joined protests in the streets.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe went from tens of thousands to thousands, thousands to hundreds, and hundreds to around twenty,\u201d said&nbsp;Thiri*, a university student in Mandalay who said she had no interest in politics before the coup but is now one of the leaders of a women\u2019s protest group.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote is-lined\"><p><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\">We went from tens of thousands to thousands, thousands to hundreds, and hundreds to around twenty.<\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal\">Thiri*, university student in Mandalay<\/cite><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<cite>Thiri*, university student in Mandalay<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p>However, the reduced number of protesters taking to the streets may also be a matter of strategy. Some of the activists that Amnesty International spoke with said they were intentionally organizing the protests in smaller groups to keep everyone safe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rina, a university&nbsp;student&nbsp;and member of the General Strike Committee in Yangon, said that it had become \u201ctoo dangerous\u201d to protest in large groups.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She participated in a flash mob with around 20 other people on 5 December 2021 and she recounted to Amnesty International that on that day, as they gathered, a military truck drove straight into them. \u201cAs I was running, I saw some of the other people who joined in the flash mob had been hit [by the military truck]. Some of them were rolling on the pavement.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina, a university student who has been protesting with the University of Myitkyina Students\u2019 Union, said that they usually go out in smaller groups because \u201cif there are too many people in the protest, it is easier to get arrested.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zin Mar, another university student who is a protest leader in&nbsp;Monywa, said that although her protest group sometimes had to reduce the number of people demonstrating for security reasons, they were determined to continue. \u201cWe will always come out whenever we can,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Min Thu, a high school student who is a leading member of the Mandalay Youth Strike Committee, has witnessed unmarked vehicles which he believes to belong to the military and police accelerate into protesters during at least three instances. In October 2021, a motorcycle nearly hit him when he was about to join a protest.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJust before we started the protest, they tried to hit me [with the vehicle] from the front,\u201d Min Thu said. \u201cI escaped by going to the nearest road and then they got down from their vehicle and pointed guns at me. They didn\u2019t shoot me because they had blocked all the angles, and they thought they would arrest me.\u201d He told Amnesty International that he dodged onto a side street and barely escaped.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;Sagaing&nbsp;region\u2019s&nbsp;Salingyi&nbsp;and&nbsp;Yinmarbin&nbsp;townships, poet and engineer Yar&nbsp;Zar&nbsp;has regularly organized people across villages to protest since March of last&nbsp;year, and&nbsp;was at two protests when soldiers and police opened fire at the crowd.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid encountering soldiers, he and his team carefully prepare routes along narrow, unpaved streets. He is one of several people who told Amnesty International that they also rely on volunteers to check and make sure the route is clear before they demonstrate.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen we protest in the village, some protesters who act as lookouts escort us so we can avoid the military. Once they have passed, we start our protest again,\u201d said Phyu, a village protest leader in&nbsp;Thayetchaung&nbsp;township, Tanintharyi region.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Protest groups have also been distributing pamphlets and using social media to call for a boycott of goods and services with ties to the&nbsp;military, and&nbsp;have been posting anti-coup messages in public spaces.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LIFE ON THE RUN&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><div style=\"position:relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"aiic-ignore wp-image-4066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-900x600.png 900w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-734x490.png 734w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-108x72.png 108w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-216x144.png 216w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-60x40.png 60w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-120x80.png 120w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-200x133.png 200w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-400x267.png 400w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-260x173.png 260w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-520x347.png 520w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-325x217.png 325w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-4-650x434.png 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>JC<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many activists described to Amnesty International how they felt like they were constantly watched and followed by civilian informants known as&nbsp;<em>dalans<\/em>&nbsp;or by soldiers and police wearing civilian clothes and driving unmarked vehicles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Myat&nbsp;Min&nbsp;Khant&nbsp;of the&nbsp;All Burma&nbsp;Federation of Student Unions said that the military and police roam streets disguised as fruit sellers or trishaw, motorcycle, or taxi drivers and embed themselves among the people to surveil anyone daring to express dissent.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are also numerous checkpoints in towns and cities around the country. People are stopped at random, and their belongings are searched by soldiers and police. Thus, activists either leave their devices at home or delete messages and applications on devices when they go out for fear that they could be arrested.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Surveillance by the military adds to the challenges in organizing protests, according to Moe&nbsp;Thouk, a protest leader with the General Strike Committee in Yangon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They use CCTV cameras to follow activists, employ&nbsp;<em>dalans<\/em>&nbsp;in every ward to gather information, and arrest activists while wearing civilian clothes, he said. \u201cThey roam around places where protests often take place. We need to carefully choose the right place [to protest] and rely on scouts for safety,\u201d said Moe&nbsp;Thouk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the activists who spoke to Amnesty International said that they have left their homes for safety reasons, and several of them have not been able to be back home at all since February 2021.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf I go back home, the military may be waiting to arrest me,\u201d said Nan Lin of the University Students\u2019 Union Alumni Force. \u201cEven my family members do not know my whereabouts.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote is-lined\"><p><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\">If I go back home, the military may be waiting to arrest me\u2026even my family members do not know my whereabouts.<\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal\">Nan Lin, University Students\u2019 Union Alumni Force<\/cite><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<cite>Nan Lin, University Students\u2019 Union Alumni Force<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p>BP, a protest leader who has demonstrated on the streets of&nbsp;Kalay,&nbsp;Sagaing&nbsp;region every day since 7 February 2021, said that a convoy of five vehicles full of soldiers raided his family home three times in one day in September 2021. He is one of four protesters interviewed who said their homes have been raided after they have left and gone into hiding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But while they fear going home, many of these activists said it is becoming harder and harder to find safe places to hide. BP told Amnesty International that he regularly sees strangers who he believes are plainclothes informants loitering near the vicinity where activists are staying or following them on motorbikes while carrying walkie-talkies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U Yaw, a monk from Ayeyarwady region who has been actively protesting since the early days after the coup, had been in hiding since March 2021 when his monastery was raided. During the raid, as U Yaw hid in a toilet stall, he overheard soldiers saying that if they found him, they should \u201cjust shoot him dead and get rid of him.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He fled to Mandalay and resumed protesting, but soldiers and police raided the monastery there where he was hiding in June. He took shelter in another monastery which was raided by soldiers and police in September 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He escaped just in time, but the soldiers and police confiscated his identification documents and cash. U Yaw continued to protest despite the risks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>THREATENING FAMILY MEMBERS&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><div style=\"position:relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"aiic-ignore wp-image-4065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-900x600.png 900w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-734x490.png 734w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-108x72.png 108w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-216x144.png 216w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-60x40.png 60w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-120x80.png 120w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-200x133.png 200w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-400x267.png 400w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-260x173.png 260w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-520x347.png 520w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-325x217.png 325w, https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/image-3-650x434.png 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>JC<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many cases, soldiers and police have taken into custody family members and loved ones of activists if they were unable to find the activists and arrest them, including a politicians\u2019 94-year-old mother and an activist\u2019s four-year-old daughter, according to media reports&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April 2021, soldiers and police raided the house of&nbsp;Arkar, an activist who had gone into hiding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause they couldn\u2019t find me and arrest me, they arrested my mother,\u201d he said. \u201cI got a call from the police&nbsp;station&nbsp;and I was told that I should give myself up in exchange for the freedom of my mother.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arkar&nbsp;did not turn himself in, and his relatives were able to negotiate his mother\u2019s release the next day by paying a bribe.&nbsp;Arkar\u2019s&nbsp;family have since moved to a new home to avoid further reprisals.&nbsp;Arkar&nbsp;is one of four people who told Amnesty International that their families were forced to leave their homes because of safety concerns.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In November 2021, the military attempted to raid the house of another protest leader who had gone into hiding. \u201cWhen they arrived, they started shooting, but they went to the wrong house. They mistakenly went to our neighbor\u2019s house and one woman was killed because of the shooting,\u201d the activist said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her family was able to escape but she has not contacted them since for fear that she would be putting their lives at further risk. She is currently moving from place to place, and said she has trouble sleeping due to fear of arrest.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have to be vigilant 24 hours a day. We get startled even when we just hear a cat jumping onto the roof. We worry about getting arrested when we go out, and when we are in the house, we are scared they will come in and arrest us. We have completely lost our sense of security,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote is-lined\"><p><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\">We have to be vigilant 24 hours a day. We get startled even when we just hear a cat jumping onto the roof.<\/span><\/strong><strong style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: amnestytradegothicbold, dindanmaibold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal\">Protest leader<\/cite><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<cite>Protest leader<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p>She is determined, though, to continue organizing peaceful protests. \u201cI cannot sit quietly when I see injustice,\u201d she told Amnesty International.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A resolve to keep protesting nonviolently is shared by many of the activists.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDespite the immense dangers and hardships, there are still many activists and human rights defenders who choose to remain in Myanmar and who are unwavering in their commitment to continue peacefully protesting and expressing their dissent,\u201d Amnesty\u2019s Emerlynne Gil said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of them said they continue their peaceful protests to inspire more people in the country to action and to give people hope. \u201cThe main reason I continue protesting is so that the people do not become divided or lose enthusiasm, and so that they can get strength by seeing us,\u201d said the monk in Mandalay, U Yaw.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlthough our lives are in danger, we choose to continue. We will keep asking the world to help us because people are being killed in Myanmar,\u201d said Zin Mar, the protest leader in&nbsp;Monywa.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*Note to editors: In several cases pseudonyms have been used at the request of interviewees<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u0e40\u0e23\u0e35\u0e22\u0e19\u0e23\u0e39\u0e49\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e34\u0e48\u0e21\u0e40\u0e15\u0e34\u0e21\u0e40\u0e01\u0e35\u0e48\u0e22\u0e27\u0e01\u0e31\u0e1a\u0e41\u0e2d\u0e21\u0e40\u0e19\u0e2a\u0e15\u0e35\u0e49<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u0e1a\u0e23\u0e34\u0e08\u0e32\u0e04\u0e2a\u0e19\u0e31\u0e1a\u0e2a\u0e19\u0e38\u0e19\u0e41\u0e2d\u0e21\u0e40\u0e19\u0e2a\u0e15\u0e35\u0e49<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Myanmar\u2019s brave activists are still pursuing peaceful protests despite grave danger and numerous challenges, Amnesty International said today, one year after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations&nbsp;(ASEAN)&nbsp;adopted&nbsp;a Five-Point Consensus&nbsp;that has abjectly failed to stop the violence in the country.&nbsp; In recent months, Amnesty International&nbsp;conducted in-depth&nbsp;interviews&nbsp;with&nbsp;17 people who have continued to take part in non-violent protests [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":0,"_hero_title":"","_hero_content":"","_hero_cta_text":"","_hero_cta_link":"","_hero_alignment":"","_hero_background":"","_hero_size":"","_hero_show":"","_hero_type":"","_hero_embed":"","_hero_video_id":0,"_hero_hide_image_caption":true,"_hero_hide_image_copyright":false,"_nav_style":"","_disable_share_icons":false,"_disable_sidebar":false,"_display_author_info":false,"_hide_featured_image":false,"_hide_featured_image_caption":true,"_maximize_post_content":false,"_reduce_content_width":false,"_sidebar_id":0,"_stretch_thumbnail":false,"byline_context":"","byline_entity":"","byline_is_author":false,"disable_related_content":false,"download_id":0,"download_text":"","show_published_date":true,"show_updated_date":true,"term_slider":"","amnesty_index_number":"","recipients":"","recipients_refresh":"","recipients_refreshed":"","amnesty_umbraco_data":"","document_ref":"","amnesty_updated":"","footnotes":""},"category":[1585],"location":[1588,1587,1589],"resourceType":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-2233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","location-southeast-asia","location-thailand","location-world"],"datePosted":"April 22, 2022","mlpRelationships":{"1":2884,"2":2233},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=2233"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2233"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourceType?post=2233"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=2233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}