THEREBELRIOT On1st February2021-exactlyoneyear ago-the armyinMyanmar tookpower.The2020electionresults,inwhichtheNationalLeague for DemocracyofNobel Prizewinner and democracy iconAung San Suu Kyi again obtained an absolute majority,werewiped out. Since then, there have been violent protests and the civil war has flared up again in the country. Myanmar also has a committed punk community.The Rebel Riot is one of themost important bands and is at the forefront of the fight against the coup.We had a conversationwith singer KyawKyaw. On the first of February, it was one year ago that the military coup tookplace.Back then, themilitarypromised to hand over the power to a civilian government after one year but of course I don’t think thiswill happen.What doyou thinkwill happen? I thinkthings arewell out ofhand for them.The revolutionarymovement is too strong.After the English colonisation,in 1948,we gained independence.In 1962 themilitary took the power.In 1988,we had a big revolution but themilitary took power again.After the coup in 2021,things are totally different than in the past.After one year,people are still fighting and they keep on fighting.The military didn’t manage it well.People are still protesting,keepingup theCivilDisobedienceMovement (CDM),they are fighting with the armed force and so on.Artists and politicians are still showing solidarity with the protest movement.After one year, the people’s revolutionarymind and spirit are still big. On the first ofFebruarylast year,you heard about the coup.Was it a surprise for you or not? Iwas surprised but I had also thought before that theywould take power. I was informed but when I heard they took power for real, it was a surprise and shock.But that drove us to do something against that coup. Whatwas your first reactionwhenyou heard about the coup? Iwalked aroundmytownship and checked howpeople felt.Alot ofpeople were shocked and sad.I felt sad too.I didn’t knowwhat to do in the futurewith thismilitarysystem.Iwas also verysad for the young people and the next generation.These weremy first feelings after the coup. Youwere one of the first to go out on the street to protest the coup, which started a fewdays after the coup.Howdid that go? It started on 5th February. I’m not an organiser. I just wanted to show my solidarity with other people. I got a message that we should demonstrate at 4 pm in this specific area. I went to support this crew but the organiser didn’t come.We didn’t knowwhat to do.The media were also waiting.Many other people were there.We were confused. Should we start on our own or just leave? 4:30, nothing happened; 4:45, still nothing.When we left,my friend started showing three fingers on the street (the three finger salute was inspired by the movie ‘The Hunger Games’ and became the symbol of the protests, xk), and then everybody started showing three fingers. The media noticed it. www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be - 22 - We didn’t talk,we didn’t pull the banner,we just showed the threefinger salute and walked on.A lot of people were happy and were clapping for us.They were applauding from their flats and from the buses.The media took pictures and made videos. I was so shocked and scared.I didn’t knowwhat to do.After this,I deletedmy facebook account and I hidmyself. You had to hide? So,you cannotwalk freelyinYangon? If they recognised me or other people in the newspaper, they would arrest us for sure. But we were lucky because after we went to demonstrate … the next day,a lot of people were on the streets.So, our demonstration disappeared. On 6th February, a lot of people were showing solidarityagainst the coup.That was good luck.Otherwise,I would have been arrested. Onemonth after themilitarycoup,you released the video for‘One Day’. It was a song that you were already working on before the coup. It was a great video, also with the three fingers salute that you justmentioned.Whatwas the impact of that video? This song was already made before the coup.We imagined … One Day…a futurewithout anydiscrimination,wedon’twant anyoppression, we don’t want any military, no corruption, no wars … because our country has known so many civil wars.We have the longest civil war in theworld!We have a lot of discrimination between Islamand Buddhismandwe have had amilitary systemfor so long.From2010 to 2020,we had so-called ‘democracy’,but people didn’t really have human rights andwere not free to speak.In the parliament,themilitarypower was still there.They controlled it frombehind the scenes. The release of the CD‘One Day’was delayed because peoplewere afraidtoworkwithyou.Theprintersdidn’twant toworkonit.What happened? It was very difficult.We knew that it was risky when we released it. It’s like walking on a string. I think: ‘they do their job,we do our job’.They took the power and try tomanage it,and we wanted to release this CD. It’s not just music,it is showing our attitude.They try to showhow they control us,andwewant to showthat we are free.They’re trying to push us downandwe are trying to standup.That’s howwe relate to this idea. You sing about the protests in‘The Night Will Not Be Silenced’.At first,the protestswere peaceful,asyou sing in the song.Itwas civil disobedience, banging on pans and pots but there has been an evolution towards a civil war. There has always been a civil war since the independence ofMyanmar in1948but it has brokenout in a much harder way. Howwas that evolution between peaceful protest and armed protest? 95% of the population hate the military.We have been in a military system for so long.Alot of families have peoplemissing or killed.So, people deeply resent the military.When the military took the power again, this anger was coming back but we never start the violence.
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