Wednesday, February 17, 2021

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Myanmar coup latest: Protesters block main roads in Yangon

Activists call for large-scale march after crowds shrink in last two days

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the military coup in Yangon on Feb. 17. © Reuters

Nikkei staff writersFebruary 1, 2021 14:18 JSTUpdated on February 17, 2021 14:49 JSTYANGON --

-- On Feb. 1, Myanmar's military detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.

The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) had won a landslide in a general election last November. But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.

For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.
Read our in-depth coverage:
-- Myanmar junta charges Suu Kyi again to keep her under house arrest
-- Myanmar junta targets sweeping data access with cybersecurity bill
-- On Myanmar, Biden has multilateral ambitions but little leverage
-- Myanmar embraces Russian arms to offset China's influence
-- Who is Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing? 5 things to know
-- Myanmar: Inside the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's government

Follow the latest developments here

(Yangon time):

Wednesday, Feb. 17

12:00 p.m. In Yangon and elsewhere, a broken-down car campaign spreading on social media has resulted in motorists stopping their vehicles on streets and bridges. The campaign is meant to block police and military trucks. The drivers who stopped also got out of their cars and checked under their hoods. Social media activists are also calling for a massive demonstration on Wednesday, an apparent attempt to turn the tide as protests in Yangon have been noticeably smaller since the military began patrolling the streets days ago.

9:30 a.m. Internet service has resumed following another blackout starting at 1 a.m. Protesters marched in the main roads in Yangon to express their anger over additional charges brought against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

3:50 a.m. The Myanmar coup has emerged as the first major diplomatic challenge for U.S. President Joe Biden since his Jan. 20 inauguration.

On Feb. 10, the day Biden announced sanctions on Myanmar's military leaders, a senior State Department official briefed bipartisan members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the situation in the Southeast Asian country.

While lawmakers expressed strong support for the condemnation of the coup and the need for a return to democratic control, they also recognized that Washington has little direct leverage over Myanmar to persuade the junta to change course.

"There was an urging by both Republican and Democratic members to pursue a multilateral sanctions-and-pressure campaign against Myanmar to exert more leverage, and in particular convince Japan and Singapore to act, given they are Myanmar's largest financial partners behind China," according to one participant in the briefing. Read more.

1:20 a.m. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi express "deep concern over the coup in Burma" in a phone call.

Blinken also "agreed on the key role of ASEAN-centrality in the Indo-Pacific, and underscored the importance of protecting and preserving a free and open South China Sea," according to U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.

Separately, Price told a news conference that the U.S. is "disturbed" by reports of additional criminal charges Aung San Suu Kyi.

Tuesday, Feb. 16

10:30 p.m. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab blasts Aung San Suu Kyi's detention in a Twitter post.

"Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained in a clear violation of her human rights by the military," Raab says after reports of additional charges against Myanmar's de facto leader before the recent coup.

6:20 p.m. The Chinese ambassador to Myanmar says the current situation is "absolutely not what China wants to see," according to Reuters.

In a local media interview posted on the Chinese Embassy's Facebook page, Ambassador Chen Hai dismisses rumors of Chinese involvement in the Feb. 1 coup as "completely nonsense" and insists Beijing was "not informed in advance." He says China had "friendly relations" with both the army and former civilian government.

4:30 p.m. In the first press conference held by the junta since it seized power on Feb. 1, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the ruling State Administration Council, blamed protesters for inciting violence and illegally pressuring civil servants to join the civil disobedience movement. Authorities have been using firearms to disperse protesters.

"Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party," he added. "We guarantee ... that the election will be held," he said during the news conference, broadcast from Naypyitaw, that last nearly two hours.

3:45 p.m. Aung San Suu Kyi's attorney tells reporters that the police has filed additional charges against her.

Suu Kyi's lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said the ousted leader is being charged with violating the country's Natural Disaster Law, without elaborating further. Suu Kyi was first charged with illegally importing walkie talkies and meant to be held under house arrest until Wednesday.

1:00 p.m. Dozens of Buddhist monks protest on the streets near Shwedagon Pagoda, the most famous temple in Yangon.

12:45 p.m. Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan tells parliament he does not support slapping "widespread generalized indiscriminate sanctions" on Myanmar because such measures could hurt ordinary citizens. The island state is a major investor in Myanmar and a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesia, Malaysia and other ASEAN members have been calling for a special meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar.

9:03 a.m. Residents say internet access has been restored. The army had cut off access for a second consecutive night early on Tuesday, raising concerns among coup opponents, particularly after the army suspended legal constraints on search and detention powers. "There is suspicion this blackout was to commit unjust activities, including arbitrary arrests," said a local political prisoners group, which has recorded 426 arrests as of Monday.

7:30 a.m. The United Nations special envoy has warned Myanmar's army of "severe consequences" for any harsh response to the protests, a U.N. spokesman said. Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener spoke on Monday to the deputy head of the junta via phone. "Ms. Schraner Burgener has reinforced that the right of peaceful assembly must be fully respected and that demonstrators are not subjected to reprisals," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said. Myanmar's army stated that deputy head Soe Win discussed the administration's plans and information on "the true situation of what's happening in Myanmar."

2:15 a.m. France "will continue to support the Burmese people in their struggle for democracy and the rule of law" in partnership with European and international partners, the French foreign ministry says in a statement.

The French statement comes as security forces in Myanmar appeared to toughen their stance toward widespread protests against the country's return to military rule.

"France remains deeply concerned about the deterioration of the situation in Burma with the increasing use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and the deployment of armored vehicles in several cities of the country," the statement says.

"The attacks on freedom of expression and the freedom of the press are of great concern," the statement says. "France calls on the security forces to restore access to communication networks as soon as possible."

Monday, Feb. 15

9:15 p.m. Malaysia says it will not deport any Muslims or migrants registered with the U.N. refugee agency.

Malaysia had agreed to return them after Myanmar's military, which seized power in a Feb. 1 coup, offered to send three navy ships to pick up its citizens held in Malaysian immigration detention centers.

In response, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees has urged Malaysia not to hand over asylum-seekers, saying many of those in detention may require international protection, including vulnerable women and children.

4:58 p.m. Myanmar security forces open fire to disperse protesters in the city of Mandalay, local media outlet Frontier Myanmar reports. The number of casualties is not clear, it says. A member of a student union in the city says some people have been wounded.

11:00 a.m. Aung San Suu Kyi will be remanded in detention until Wednesday for a court hearing and will not appear on Monday as initially expected, her lawyer tells journalists in the capital Naypyitaw, according to Reuters. "Whether it is fair or not, you can decide yourself," the lawyer says.

9:30 a.m. Residents in Yangon say internet service has resumed. Protests have broken out in the commercial capital, with many military vehicles seen in the city.

1:00 a.m. All four telecommunications networks were inaccessible from about 1 a.m. on Monday (1830GMT), residents in Myanmar reported. In the early days after the coup, the internet was cut across the country.

12:02 a.m. Reuters reports that two journalists from The 74 Media, which was broadcasting live from the site of the confrontation, were arrested along with three other journalists, the news outlet said in a Facebook post.

Sunday, Feb.14

11:01 p.m. Western embassies in Myanmar called on the country's military to "refrain from violence against demonstrators and civilians" in a statement released late Sunday.

9:41 p.m. Soldiers were deployed to power plants in the northern state of Kachin, leading to a confrontation with demonstrators. Security forces fired to disperse protesters outside one plant in Kachin's state capital Myitkyina, footage broadcast live on Facebook showed. It was not clear if they were using rubber bullets or live fire.

8:45 p.m. The U.S embassy in Myanmar urged its citizens to "shelter-in-place" on Sunday, citing reports of military movements in the commercial capital Yangon, after armored vehicles were sighted there for the first time since the Feb. 1 military coup. The embassy also said there was a "possibility of telecommunications interruptions overnight between 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m".

1:30 p.m. Thousands of people from Myanmar living in Japan marched in Shibuya, downtown Tokyo on Sunday to protest the military coup back home, some holding photos of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and signs deploring the loss of human rights.

11:30 a.m. "I haven't slept last night. People are getting tired of patrolling at night in their neighborhoods since the military released 23,000 prisoners," said a young man. He quit his job at a garment factory to join the protests; 400 out of 2,000 workers have left the plant, he said.

10:20 a.m. According to Reuters, tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets in major cities. It is the ninth straight day of anti-coup demonstrations, after a fearful night as residents formed patrols and the army rolled back laws protecting freedoms.

"We created two teams with our neighbors, each team with three to four people, to secure the streets in the neighborhood," said a seafood seller in Yangon. The team formed a makeshift checkpoint from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. armed with sticks. He said it was to "protect ourselves because we don't know what kind of weapons the suspicious person might bring. But we are trying not to be violent."

9:10 a.m. Myanmar's army reinstates a law requiring people to report overnight visitors to their homes, as police hunt supporters of protests that have rocked the country since a military coup on Feb. 1.

The amendment to the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law, announced late on Saturday on a military-run Facebook page, is the latest in a raft of legislative changes introduced by the army.

Saturday, Feb.13

4:00 p.m. Peaceful protests continue in Yangon. Hledan district, the commercial hub of the city, is becoming the main place to protest. People gather on street corners and chant for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

12:30 p.m. Many people in Myanmar are now tweeting: 'STOP NIGHT ARRESTS.' Rumors are circulating that the police are arresting citizens at night without proper legal procedures, targeting civil servants who are taking part in the boycott against the military.

9:30 a.m. Protesters start to gather in central Yangon. Young people demonstrate in the streets, chanting "Release Mother Suu," in front of Myanmar Plaza, a large shopping center. People also gather around the U.S. embassy in Yangon, urging tougher sanctions against the military.

3:50 a.m. The Bank of Japan, like most central banks around the world, is watching carefully to see how Myanmar's coup may affect bilateral and regional cooperation on monetary policy and financial stability.

As news of the military takeover reached the halls of the BOJ, staff raced to gather information about the ongoing developments, including the fate of the Southeast Asian nation's central bank governor.

The shocking news was passed up the command chain at the head office in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district. Read more.

12:15 a.m. The spokesperson for the United Nations secretary-general calls the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar "a very important step."

"It shows that the international community will speak strongly and with a strong voice, calling for the reversal of the events we've seen in Myanmar, and for the full respect of the democratic will of the people of Myanmar as well as full respect of their human rights," Stephane Dujarric says.

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DW DEUTSCHE WELLE

Myanmar protests: All you need to know

Myanmar is seeing nationwide protests following a military coup. A broad coalition of doctors, teachers and blue-collar workers is demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the restoration of democracy.

The demonstrators are demanding a return to democratic government and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking politicians of the de facto governing party, the National League for Democracy. The military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD members on Monday.

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After Failing to Condemn Coup, China Faces Daily Opposition in Myanmar
Anti-coup protesters hold placards at the Chinese Embassy in Yangon on Monday.

THE IRRAWADDY IS A LOCAL PRO DEMOCRACY PAPER IN MYANMAR/BURMA

IF YOU CLICK ON THIS STORY IT WILL CONNECT YOU TO SCROLLING UPDATES.

Nan Lwin / The Irrawaddy

By NAN LWIN 15 February 2021

YANGON — China’s failure to condemn Myanmar’s military coup is sparking increased anger across Myanmar as mass protests against the regime sweep the country.

The Chinese Embassy in Yangon has attracted thousands of anti-coup protesters every day in the last week. Anger toward Beijing grows as China continues to defend the military regime calling the coup an “internal affair” at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The embassy protest was larger on Monday with placards reading, “Shame on you”, “Justice is blind, coup is a crime, China is behind it”, “China breaks our democracy”, “Myanmar’s military dictatorship is made in China” and “China bullies Myanmar”.

A placard read, “China should do the walk of shame”, in reference to Cersei Lannister in the Game of Thrones series who was forced to walk naked through the streets to pay for her crimes.

“We are mad at China. We are demanding that China stop supporting the military but its support continues,” Ma Su Theingi Htun, a 24-year-old student, told The Irrawaddy. “We must put pressure China to show the Burmese do not accept the military government. I will keep coming until they understand.”

A sit-in protest against China’s support for the military regime at the Chinese Embassy in Yangon on Monday. /Nan Lwin / The Irrawaddy

Young protesters stand close to barricades in the front of the embassy gates, showing placards to CCTV cameras reading: “Support Myanmar, don’t support dictatorship”, “China and Russia secretly help Myanmar’s military, the world must know” and “China takes our resources. Why do you want more?”

China was the closest ally of Myanmar’s military while the country was isolated under the previous military regime. China is a major supplier of military hardware and technology. The foreign ministry in Beijing rejected reports that it supported the coup.

It has also denied reports that it has helped the military regime build internet firewalls to block online freedom and access personal data. Five cargo flights arrived in Yangon from Kunming in Yunnan Province last week. China claimed they were only carrying goods like seafood.

While the regime cut the internet on Sunday night, three more flights from Kunming landed at Yangon International Airport.

“China said it sent seafood last week. What was it this time?” an 18-year old art and culture student, who asked not to be named, told The Irrawaddy. She held a placard reading, “Take back your seafood.”

“China is involved in this coup. Young people won’t stand for it. We will boycott all Chinese products and spread campaigns against imports,” she said.

China and Russia blocked attempts to condemn the military takeover at the UN Security Council and Beijing only described the coup as a “major cabinet reshuffle”, sparking young people to start online campaigns against Chinese products.

Sai Htet Soe San, a 19-year-old student, told The Irrawaddy: “Anti-China sentiment is growing among the young. As long as China fails to condemn the military, we will say it is supporting the military.”

Anti-coup protesters at the Chinese Embassy in Yangon on Monday. / Nan Lwin / The Irrawaddy

Young people are urging staff from Myanmar working on the China-Myanmar oil and gas twin pipeline project to join the civil disobedience campaign. A strike could suspend work on the project, they say.

Last week, work in the China-backed copper mines in Monywa Township was suspended after more than 2,000 miners from the Kyisintaung copper mine joined the civil disobedience movement. The Letpadaung Taung copper mine in Sagaing’s Salingyi Township also stopped operations after thousands of employees joined the movement.

A Kachin activist, Daw May Sabe Phyu, the director of the Gender Equality Network, told The Irrawaddy that she is protesting at the Chinese Embassy to condemn China’s defense of the military at the United Nations.

“I want to let China know our people strongly reject its policies. China must support the people, not the military,” she said.

Daw May Sabe Phyu said civil society organizations plan to send an open letter to UN Security Council and Asean, calling for protection for civilians.

“We call on democratic states to put pressure on countries like China which are defending the Burmese military,” she said.

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Burma
The Coup in Myanmar: How the Generals Miscalculated

An anti-military regime protester wears a Batman outfit in Yangon on Feb. 15. / The Irrawaddy

By AUNG ZAW 16 February 2021

Myanmar braced for a major crackdown on Sunday night as more troops were deployed to the cities and armored vehicles patrolled the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw. When internet access shut down at around 1 a.m., reporters prepared their gear and cameras and prepared to face the inevitable. A friend sent a message: “Delete any sensitive information on your phone!” A colleague called me, whispering into the phone, “Lights are out.”

By 4 a.m., no news of a major crackdown had been reported, though there were some arrests, including five journalists and two local residents in Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State. They were released on Monday. In the morning, the Civil Disobedience Movement poured back onto the streets of Yangon and Mandalay, as well as the national capital Naypyitaw—the “Abode of Kings”, once thought to be protest-proof but now filled with peaceful protesters and security forces.

For those of us who lived through past uprisings, it is hard not to see the fate of the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement as preordained. We cannot help but replay the past in our minds, and relive the peaceful gatherings and uprisings that faced the military’s wrath and ended in slaughter.

We can see that the military is losing patience, but unleashing bloodshed in front of livestreaming smartphone cameras will be difficult. Since the coup two weeks ago we have seen several livestreams on social media in which citizens fought back against unlawful arrest and attacks by security forces. As in the past, if the military does launch a major assault it will be like digging their own graves.

An anti-military regime protest by young people near the Russian Embassy in Yangon on Feb. 12. / The Irrawaddy

However, it is frightening even to imagine how this latest confrontation will end. It feels like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

In November, just before the peaceful election in Myanmar, a colleague of mine sent me a message speculating on what the immediate future held for our country. The message predicted post-election violence and envisioned a scenario in which the military would intervene by staging a coup. At the time I dismissed his assessment—but deep inside, I knew there were ominous signs.

Later, after learning of the failure of last-ditch negotiations between the government and the military over the latter’s claims of electoral fraud, I knew we were traveling back into a dark tunnel. On Jan. 29, upon hearing that the two sides had been unable to reach a breakthrough, my colleague texted me simply: “Game Over”.

Indeed, much of the scenario laid out in the message in November—that within six months, the country would see violence, political polarization and the military’s eventual intervention—has come to pass, though the power grab came quicker than expected.

Protesters confront troops during the 1988 Uprising.

My colleague correctly predicted that the military would stage a coup, citing as justification its claim of voter fraud and an election that was neither free nor fair. Once in power, under this scenario, the military would announce that it intended to focus on key issues including ethnic conflicts, international pressure and economic stability. It also envisions that the military will amend the 2008 Constitution and hold elections, but without the NLD, resulting in a situation much like 2010, when the outlawed NLD refused to take part in the election. The message also speculated that former President U Thein Sein might be offered a seat in the interim government. That particular detail has not panned out—Senior General Min Aung Hlaing leads the SAC.

In retrospect, two high-level visits to Naypyitaw in the weeks before the coup by foreign dignitaries—one by the Russian defense minister (highly unusual) and the other by the Chinese foreign minister—now take on a whole new significance. If they didn’t have knowledge of the coup in advance, I would be very surprised. The military discussed the plan with some close allies at home and abroad. The generals have learned from neighboring countries, and from those further afield, and prepared thoroughly before staging the coup.

On Jan. 29, some senior military leaders in Naypyitaw reached out to ethnic armed forces and told them that, should any unprecedented incident take place in the country, the military wanted to continue working with them to achieve peace. In other words—a coup was on the way.

In 2018, at a café in downtown Yangon, I sat down with a high-ranking official who served in the U Thein Sein government. He warned me to keep in mind the events of 1958.

Anti-military regime protesters in Yangon on Feb. 15. / The Irrawaddy

In that year, under General Ne Win, the military took power from Prime Minister U Nu’s government to restore order amid civil disturbances caused by factions among leaders of the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League. Under a “caretaker government”, Gen. Ne Win held an election in 1960. He handed power back to the winner, U Nu, only to stage a coup and seize it back two years later. Gen. Ne Win claimed to have saved Burma from the abyss and then ruled the country for the next 26 years. Our country became one of the poorest in the world as a result. Gen. Ne Win then endorsed his subordinates to seize power again in 1988 during the nationwide uprising. The “new generation” men in uniform ruled the country until 2010, when they held a sham election. The military-installed government opened up the country, and the West and the international community hailed the reforms and embraced the generals. I am afraid we will see a similar version of these events replayed in the near future. There are hostages in custody, and the military will say: “It’s time to negotiate. What is your price?”

The historical analogy has its limitations, however. Gen. Ne Win ruled in a very different era: He did not have to deal with the creative protest methods of Generation Z, nor were there smartphones, livestreaming, street performances and a horde of celebrities and affluent middle class protesters smiling and exuding a strange calm on the streets. Gen. Ne Win faced a different kind of protest and dealt with it in his own way, dynamiting the Student Union building at Rangoon University in July 1962 and killing many students. (None of which prevented him from receiving an invitation to the US, where he met President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.)

A week after this month’s coup, the Biden administration condemned the takeover and imposed targeted sanctions. The West and the UN joined the condemnation and backed the protest, the CDM and the ousted elected government. Within days of the coup, protests were mounted in front of the Chinese and Russian embassies in Yangon. To someone who experienced the 1988 uprising as a student protester, it was impressive; it would have taken us ages to mobilize such a movement and international reaction

Young people stage an anti-coup performance in downtown Yangon on Feb. 11. / The Irrawaddy

The military’s first mistake has been to underestimate the speed with which a mass movement would mobilize; it gave no consideration to the special strengths of Generation Z. Second, it thought the battle would be strictly between the military and NLD. But Myanmar’s youth emerged rapidly and have broken out from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s shadow to take charge of the resistance to the coup makers. These are everyday people—our neighbors. They say with calmness: “If we keep quiet now, gradually, we will become slaves to the military.”

The military has declared war against the people and the nation, and is trying to turn back the clock. To my colleagues who argue about whether this is a “soft coup” or the harder, cruder variety: There is no such distinction to be made; a coup is a coup. The one that took place in Myanmar two weeks ago has one aim: to take all of us back to the stone age.

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Topics: 1988, bloodshed, China, civil disobedience movement, condemnation, Coup, crackdown, Generation Z, Internet, Military, Min Aung Hlaing, miscalculate, mobilize, NLD, plan, prepare, quickly, reaction, Russia, SAC, Social Media, US, Youth

Aung ZawThe IrrawaddyAung Zaw is the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Irrawaddy.

CHINA VIEW

Hegemonic Washington tries to use Myanmar situation to restore global leadership

After Myanmar's military detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other elected leaders in early morning raids on Monday, a popular view in the West is that US President Joe Biden should seize the chance to restore the US' global leadership.

An editorial in the Washington Post on Tuesday said, "This is an opportunity to show they can deliver," since "Mr. Biden and his national security team have pledged to reestablish U.S. leadership on vital multilateral issues." A Monday article in Foreign Policy magazine argued it would "give the US a badly needed chance to reassert its role as leader of the free world."

The US' international influence and reputation have severely declined under Trump's rule. Now with the Biden administration being in office, it badly needs to take some measures to restore the leading status and influence of the US in the international community and among Western countries.

However, the US taking intervening in Myanmar as a chance to restore its influence and rebuild leadership among Western allies exposes the US' true hegemonic and selfish nature.

The US has taken interventionism for granted to prove its pledge to defend democracy, regardless of what the people of Myanmar truly need. Calling the detention of Myanmar's elected leaders "a direct assault on the country's transition to democracy and the rule of law," Biden on Monday threatened to re-impose sanctions on Myanmar. Issuing verbal threats is the first step. The US' next moves will likely hinge on how Myanmar's military responds to Western demands and condemnation.

If Myanmar military refused to relinquish power as the US has demanded, it's likely that Washington will re-impose sanctions that had gradually been rolled back by Obama. Another possible scenario is that the US and other Western countries may further increase efforts to cultivate and support pro-democracy forces in the country - what Myanmar military is not willing to see. Now, the US and the West have shown their strong interventionist posture. The wrestling between the West and Myanmar's military will continue for a long time to come.

The most urgent problem in Myanmar right now is for relevant parties concerned to sit down and have in-depth, sincere and frank talks on the issues they are facing - and reach a certain degree of compromise. However, the US never cares about what Myanmar really needs. It always perceives the Myanmar issue according to its own desires and interests.

After the military seized power in Myanmar, some Westerners' sentiments have been ever more complicated. They are now arguing that the "democracy" under Suu Kyi (the once icon of democracy they championed) was flawed. Yet ironically, they also contend that Suu Kyi's "failings do not mean Myanmar's limited democracy is not worth saving." The mainstream Western voices hope that Myanmar's political transformation can continue to achieve the West's expectations and general directions. They see the Myanmar issue as a test for defending democracy and freedom. Have they ever really considered what caused this current dilemma?

The political democratization that the West has been advocating is not a panacea for developing countries who have their own distinct internal conditions. Political instability is actually one of the major problems faced by many Southeast Asian countries. The kind of political transformation the West seeks seldom sees long-term success in developing countries.

But this model may also leads to repeated political turbulence, failing to meet these countries' actual situations. This is what has happened in Myanmar this time. It also applies to the political turbulence that happened in Thailand before.

These cases actually show that Western-style democratization is indeed a crude model that does not take into account the reality of developing countries. The West should not force developing countries to accept their model. Serious Westerners should instead study and research the actual situations of those countries and their development goals more carefully. This way they can craft more mutual understanding with developing countries, including Myanmar.

The article was compiled based on an interview with Bi Shihong, a professor at Center for China's Neighbor Diplomacy Studies and School of International Studies, Yunnan University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Voices of women and people of color must be part of Catholic social teaching discussion
Feb 16, 2021
by Megan Sweas

As an Interfaith Welcome Coalition volunteer, Sr. Jean Durel, a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word, helps Cyrilo Garcia, his son, Kelvin Naum, 3, and Juan Jose Nunez pinpoint their departure time June 18, 2019, at the San Antonio Greyhound station. (GSR file photo/Nuri Vallbona)

In a recent essay, Francis X. Rocca of the Wall Street Journal argued that Catholic social teaching presents a framework for uniting America, noting the prominence of religion in President Joe Biden's public life.

I have often heard John Carr, formerly of the U.S. bishops' conference and now Georgetown University, say that Catholics do not have a natural political home in either party. The flip side is that they might be able to offer a third way, Carr and other scholars say in the article. Both the left and right can find something to like — and dislike — in Catholic social teaching.

The idea that the Catholic Church might offer a place to begin a conversation between America's polarized sides is hopeful and energizing. It is amazing to reflect on how far this country has come. As Rocca noted, Biden, only our second Catholic president, can have a picture of a pope in the Oval Office without his loyalties being questioned.

If Catholic social teaching is to be a starting place for a conversation about how we shape our country, I have to ask who is part of that conversation. If we look at Rocca's article, it is white men. Not one of Rocca's sources are women and few, if any, are people of color.

There has been a trend among some journalists in recent years to work toward a more equitable gender balance in sourcing. A 2010 study found that only 24% of news sources were female, journalist Adrienne LaFrance wrote in an essay, revealing that her personal numbers were not any better. It takes a concerted effort to quote more women, she concluded. The same can be said of quoting more people of color.

When she published her findings, her article challenged me. I know from personal experience that reaching anything close to parity in sourcing is difficult when reporting about the Catholic Church, especially considering the primacy men hold as priests, bishops and cardinals.

Those men, however, do not represent all Catholics. "That Christianity today is of a mostly female, underprivileged, southern-hemisphere-dwelling, non-white countenance might surprise those who follow Catholic media," writes Melissa Nichols, referring to a study on the demographics of global Christianity.

This not only an issue for journalists. Nichols points to the lack of such figures in Catholic television, radio and film.

Now that I work at a research center, I am conscious about aiming to involve a diverse set of research subjects in the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture's global project on exemplary humanitarians. This is about whose studies get funded and whose books get published as well.

Consumers also play a role in their choice of books, media programs, publications and podcasts. All of us could be challenged to broaden whom we listen to for expertise.

This goes for popes too. Pope Francis urged Catholic media to "work to overcome the diseases of racism, injustice and indifference" last year. Yet women are largely absent in his recent addition to the canon of Catholic social teaching, the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, according to moral theologian Meghan Clark, who would have been a good source for Rocca's article.

"This is particularly striking because much of the local community-building work called for by this encyclical is practiced and embodied by women, especially within the contexts of migration and post-conflict reconciliation," she wrote for NCR.

It's hard to imagine writing about Catholic social teaching without talking to Catholic sisters who have dedicated their lives to putting it into practice. Srs. Simone Campbell and Normal Pimentel are as prominent of sources as any of the men in Rocca's piece, and countless more can be found over at Global Sisters Report.

While I am sure there are much worse examples of exclusion than Rocca's article on Catholic social teaching, it is a significant example because of its topic: our country's future.

C. Vanessa White, assistant professor of spirituality and ministry at Catholic Theological Union at Chicago (Provided photo)

What is missing without the voices of women and people of color?

C. Vanessa White of Catholic Theological Union pointed out that Fratelli Tutti opens "a door for further dialogue on racism and its deadly impacts." White's conclusion reaffirms Rocca's argument that Catholic social teaching could be the basis of conversation about a critical issue dividing America, though race was not mentioned in the article.

Most significantly, as Rocca points out, a core issue dividing the left and right's application of Catholic social teaching is abortion — a question about women's bodies. Though it is difficult to tell listening to either church leaders or politicians, 60% of Americans take non-absolutist views of abortion, according the Pew Research Center.

Jamie Manson, former NCR columnist and now president of Catholics for Choice, might point out that 56% of Catholics support abortion rights in most or all cases, as she did in a recent article on how Biden being a pro-choice Catholic will affect reproductive rights. Even on this controversial issue, there is room for conversation. Catholic social teaching promotes the dignity of life from conception to death. At the same time, many see reproductive rights as an extension of women's inherent dignity. "We see giving women access to reproductive health care as being pro-life," Manson said.

Not all women will agree with each other about how Catholic social teaching applies to American life. But if Catholic social teaching is to be the framework for bringing the left and right together in conversation, then women and people of color should be part of that conversation. That will require all of us — journalists and consumers of media alike — to make an effort to listen to their voices.

Read this next: New speaker's bureau highlights Catholics of color

Megan Sweas
Megan Sweas is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. She writes about social and economic justice issues and world religions and is the author of Putting Education to Work: How Cristo Rey High Schools are Transforming Urban Education (HarperOne, 2014).

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