Myanmar Student Protesters Attacked by Police Gain Global Sympathy
A young person from Nepal holds a placard expressing support to Myanmar student protesters
Students and activists from many parts of the world have been expressing their support to Myanmar student protesters who were brutally attacked by government forces last week.
The Facebook page ‘We Support Myanmar Students’ encourages everyone to show solidarity to Myanmar students by submitting photos or by organizing support activities. At present, more than 20,000 have liked the page.
Student protesters in the former capital Yangon were harassed and beaten by the police on March 5. Five days later, a student rally in the town of Letpadan was also dispersed by the police. More than 100 rally participants were detained, including monks and some journalists, although several were already released.
Myanmar students from various parts of the country have been protesting the passage of the National Education Law which was introduced by the government last year. According to them, the law will suppress academic freedom as it will centralize more authority in the hands of the military-backed civilian government.
A 400-mile march from Mandalay to Yangon was organized last January and it was supposed to reach its destination early this month but it was blocked by government forces. Instead of allowing the students to peacefully conclude the march, the police decided to break-up the rally. Many quickly condemned the use of violence by the police to stop the rally.
Support for the protesting students also came from other countries. Through Facebook and Twitter, students and activists are using the hashtag #wearemmstudents to show solidarity to the student protesters, especially those who are still in detention. Below are some of the photos featured on the Facebook page ‘We Support Myanmar Students’.
Support from Palestine
Support from China
Support from Bangladesh. Facebook page of Anik Rahman
Support from Thailand
Support from the United States of America
Support from Zambia
Support from Vietnam
Support from Brazil
Support from Canada. Facebook page of University for Peace
Support from Malaysia
The Panzagar group, which launched the flower speech campaign to counter online hate speech, also began promoting the white flower symbol on Facebook and other social networks to condemn violence in society.
Image from Panzagar
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about the reported “excessive and disproportionate” use of force against the protestors. In response, the government vowed to probe the incident.
5 comments
Violence is awful. My whole family and nation supports these students , too. You can search for customized essays online and check how often our students write about violent behavior of other people to them, starting from teaching staff and ending with police and government officials. When this point stops and they would be treated as any other people. They are members of society, they are our future, why they are treated in such an awful manner. Yes. sometimes they are tough in their protests but it is how they express their feelings and opinion because no one listens to them. It should be stopped!