NAYPYIDAW (MYANMAR) – Teachers in Myanmar on Friday recently joined a civil disobedience campaign with some lecturers refusing to work or cooperate with authorities, as part of protest against the military coup. The civil disobedience campaign, initiated by medical workers soon after Monday’s coup, has seeped into the lives of students, youth groups and some workers in both the state and private sectors.
Wearing red ribbons and holding up protest signs, scores of lecturers and teachers gathered in front of campus buildings at the Yangon University of Education.
“We don’t want this military coup which unlawfully seized power from our elected government,” said lecturer Nwe Thazin Hlaing.
“We are no longer going to work with them. We want the military coup to fail,” she added, surrounded by other staff who held up held up three-finger salutes, now used by many protesters in Myanmar.
The salute, with the three fingers pointing up with palm away from the body, bears its origin from the Hunger Games movies. However, in recent years, protesters have been deriving inspiration from the same against authoritarian rule in Asia.
One member of staff estimated 200 of the 246 staff at the university joined the protest.
“We aim to halt the administration system. We are now holding a peaceful strike,” said another lecturer, Honey Lwin.
There were also reports of a similar protest at Dagon University in Yangon.
Several dozen anti-coup protesters also marched on Friday in the southeastern city of Dawei, which was followed by supporters on motorbikes, as shown in a video footage.
“We declare that we start our fight for democracy today in Dawei. We urge the people to join and stand with us,” said one protester.