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En bref
In 2014, young activists at Yangon University, Myanmar, creatively disrupted a town hall meeting with President Obama to expose the flaws in the military-dominated government’s political reform process.
President Obama was set to meet 400 young people in a town hall meeting at Yangon University on the morning of November 14, 2014, during his second official visit to Myanmar. The meeting was also attended by Burmese senior officials seated in the front rows. Cheers from the crowd filled the room as President Obama entered. As he began his remarks, the crowd settled back into their seats. However, several young people around the room remained standing. They were holding placards that read, “Reform is Fake”, “Change”, and “Illusion.” Protesters handed an open letter to President Obama at the end of the meeting. The letter was also circulated to the media present in the room.
The action succeeded in publicly confronting President Obama with the truth about the real democratic struggle within Myanmar.
To appreciate the significance of this action, consider the political context: Myanmar (also known as Burma) was undergoing a political reform process after decades of military rule. The reform process began in 2010, after the rigged election had handed power to a new quasi-civilian government consisting mostly of members of the previous military government. Many believe that the sectoral reforms initiated by the new government were merely cosmetic efforts to improve the country’s international image and convince western governments to remove economic sanctions, and were not actually about transferring power to a democratic government. The National Education Law, for example, introduced in 2014 as part of the education sector reform, was widely seen as an oppressive tool to prolong military rule (see: STORY: Burmese Students’ Long March).
Believing the reform process to be going in the wrong direction, a group of young activists had stepped up to ally with civil society organizations and other youth organizations such as the student unions in order to undertake a mix of closed-door advocacy and public actions.
As a close supporter of Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government, the United States has much influence in the country, so when President Obama announced his second official visit, these young activists gathered to discuss opportunities to send a message to him directly. Although only one member of the young activist group was initially invited to the event, he pushed the event organization to give admission to his friends, so a few more were accepted.
This was the context for what happened on the morning of November 14, 2014. With no political space to call for a more democratic reform process or discuss amending the draft National Education Law, this action succeeded in publicly confronting President Obama, one of the main supporters of the military-led “reform” process, with the truth about the real democratic struggle within Myanmar — while senior government officials, national and international media, and youth from across the ASEAN region looked on. For the young people of Myanmar, dialogue with the government and its supporters on critical issues such as the unpopular Education Law was never an option. These protesters were determined to confront the world with that fact.
Tactique clé
This visit from Obama was meant to be the crowning achievement of the military-dominated government’s attempt to reinvent itself as a democracy without actually relinquishing power. By disrupting that performance, activists called out the falseness of the reform process and let the world know that the struggle for real democracy in Myanmar was still very much alive.
Principe clé
Public protest in Myanmar can be very dangerous. The presence at the town hall of international observers (including media and students from nearby countries) and U.S. officials helped ensure the safety of the protesters. Any crackdown would have embarrassed the government and proved the protesters’ point that the so-called democratic reforms were only for show (see: PRINCIPLE: Put your target in a decision dilemma).