[imagesource: AP/STR]

Since Myanmar’s democratically elected government was toppled in February by the military junta, the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has been up in arms.

They’ve been protesting the military government by defiantly banging pots and pans out of windows, boycotting military-associated businesses, or refusing to pay bills.

Anti-junta protests can often be loud and crowded, but this can lead to deadly situations as military soldiers take action to silence protesters.

On December 5 in Yangon for example, a military vehicle ran down peaceful protesters, killing five, while soldiers opened fire and made arrests.

Deposed democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi was also sent to prison after sharing a harrowing video of the smoking corpses of 11 people shot and burned by junta soldiers in a rural village.

With tensions so high, the people are showing the military government exactly what it will be like if they are silenced any further, turning Myanmar’s major cities Yangon and Mandalay into ghost towns:

Image: AP/STR

Image: AP/STR

Image: AP/STR

The silent streets and shuttered shops might look like a COVID-19 lockdown, but they are in fact the consequence of a “silent strike” organised for the second time by anti-junta protest groups to boycott the military government.

VICE has more:

A hush descended upon Yangon, a densely populated city of 5.2 million people, on Friday as its citizens engaged in a “silent strike” that brought the country’s commercial capital to a standstill.

“Silence is the loudest shout. We want our rights back. We want revolution. We express sadness for our fallen heroes,” protest leader Khin Sandar told the media.

The silence also extended to another city:

…Similar scenes were found in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city of 1.7 million people, as protestors aimed to demonstrate the lack of control the junta wields wields over their daily lives.

“We own our town. Staying active or silent is our choice. They [the regime] shall absolutely never be allowed to rule,” one slogan associated with the protests declared.

The CDM posted a video to Twitter showing what it looked like when these almost five million citizens stayed at home:

Video of Yangon and Mandalay being turned into ghost cities by massive #SilentStrike. People are displaying power and that they own the cities. #OurCityOurRuleOurWill#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar

Video credit to @AP @Coalporter pic.twitter.com/Dq6g57VGNZ

— Civil Disobedience Movement (@cvdom2021) December 10, 2021

The silence really does strike an unnerving chord.

[source:vice]