The double crisis: Covid-19 and the coup

The resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Myanmar in June, July and August has abruptly changed the situation offline as well as online. Before the massive outbreak, social media was dominated by posts covering and commenting on protests, the clashes between the Tatmadaw and resistance groups, the military’s abuses of activists and the difficulties in getting access to cash.

However, the military council’s forceful reopening of schools and pressuring of civil servants to resume working despite the rising number of cases in the Sagaing Region and Chin State spurred the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19. The regime’s continuing suppression of striking healthcare workers made them hesitant to collaborate and eventually led to a collapse of the health system. As a result, the Covid-19 pandemic exploded in the country during the summer months.

Unlike the first and second waves of the pandemic, people in this third wave have had to rely on themselves to survive. The rise in number of Covid-19 patients needing oxygen quickly created a shortage, and long queues of people desperately hoping to get hold of oxygen cylinders were observed at oxygen distribution centres. Social media, and Facebook in particular, was flooded with people pleading for oxygen for family members and mourning the untimely deaths of loved ones. All over Myanmar social media, videos appeared apparently showing virus victims dead in their homes due to lack of treatment and long lines of people waiting to get a hold of whatever oxygen supplies were still available. Facebook pages, apps and Telegram channels showing the places where oxygen refills were available popped up. CDM doctors initiated teleconsultation platforms to assist Covid-19 patients. Like the first and second waves, posts misinforming about cures and treatments for Covid-19, the opening of care centres, and oxygen provision also were widely circulated on social media. For a brief period, the coup fell into the background as everyone focused on the survival of their friends and family members.

Figure 85: Mentions of word oxygen surged on Facebook in July with the rise of Covid-19 cases.

Figure 86: A widely-circulated meme showing the unfortunate events in Myanmar within past few weeks. (Source: Mingalarpar)

Figure 87: Examples of posts desperately asking for help for Covid-19 patients needing oxygen and medical support.

Figure 88: The growing need for oxygen in Myanmar with the resurgence of Covid-19. (Source: BBC)

Using Covid-19 as a tool of oppression

The military’s handling of the situation has been considered by many to be an act of atrocity and people have been horrified over the lack of empathy for Covid-19 patients. With death tolls on the rise due to mismanagement and oppression, public outrage has grown. On Facebook, people have made comparisons between the current regime's performance in the third wave and the NLD government's in the first and second waves. People have clearly expressed respect for the NLD government's engagement in the first and second waves, where infected people were properly treated, and eligible populations received subsidies and assistance from the government. However, the current authorities have imposed restrictions on the private sale of oxygen cylinders for the third wave, requiring certification from ward administrators and other forms of documentation; combined with an ongoing enforcing of curfew hours, it has made it almost impossible for people to seek emergency treatment. Dr Zaw Wai Soe, health minister of the National Unity Government (NUG), claimed that up to 400,000 lives could be lost if swift actions were not taken to contain the pandemic.

Figure 89: The restrictions requiring ward administration’s certification, ID and other criteria for patients to get oxygen cylinders. (Source: Khit Thit News)

Amid the crisis, the military and security forces have continued raiding clinics and arresting healthcare workers. Five doctors volunteering at community-based Covid-19 prevention charities were arrested as they were assisting the patients independently. There have also been reports of military forces confiscating oxygen cylinders and medical supplies. Due to the restrictions and arbitrary detainment of healthcare workers and residents, human rights activists have argued that the military is systematically weaponising Covid-19 to strengthen their hold on power and crush the opposition. The death of U Nyan Win, a senior advisor from NLD jailed after the coup, has raised further concerns for the health of politicians currently detained without healthcare provisions.

Figure 90: The Right to Breathe campaign. (Source: D Day Channel)

Military supporters changing their minds and tones

Infected with Covid-19 and without any medical assistance from the military, military supporters and veterans have also begun to voice their disappointment and even outrage with the military on social media. Reports of Covid-19 ripping through the military, and people having to accept lack of treatment and death of family members based on rank and title, have been shared broadly on social media. However, due to fear of backlash among its supporters, the military council has imposed a blackout on reports of Covid-19 deaths within the army.

Among the posts from military supporters expressing their frustration with the situation, two cases made headlines. In the first case, a hardline Tatmadaw supporter lost his mother, sister and niece to Covid-19 within a week, which instigated him becoming critical of the military he has steadfastly endorsed. While he was waiting to cremate his mother's body, he went live on Facebook to condemn the military’s lack of healthcare support and obituary services. Following his viral video, he was arrested that night but released the following morning. His temporary arrest made headlines, highlighting the growing tension between the regime and its supporters. In another case, a former military captain and his wife died of Covid-19 after being rebuked for getting tested and receiving treatment at a military hospital. Before his death, the captain posted on his Facebook account that he did not want to forsake his loyalty to the military and become an NLD supporter before his death. The fact that he was the one who aimed his gun and nearly shot Aung San Suu Kyi in 1989 created attention on social media, with netizens pointing out an unfortunate death of loyal military personnel.

Figure 91: A military supporter and a former captain criticising the regime’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak. (Source: Lin Latt Cho; Mizzima- News in Burmese)

Interestingly, a pro-military cartoonist, whose pseudonym is “Thitsar Shin”, showed dissatisfaction at the military’s donations to musicians and artists over needy veterans, who have been greatly ignored. The cartoon (Figure 92 below) was used in a post by the pro-military account named “Naing Naing Thant” to point out that the military should prioritise soldiers before providing donations in the name of publicity.

Figure 92: A change in tone from a pro-military cartoonist as he started to criticise the regime for lack of support of destitute soldiers. (Source: Naing Naing Thant)

Figure 93: A pro-military cartoonist attacking the anti-coup movements. (Source: Thitsar Shin / သစ္စာရှင်)

Misinformation and propaganda

The military’s mishandling of the Covid-19 outbreak has not done anything to help their claim to power. Attempting to remedy the situation, pro-military accounts and groups are spreading fabricated news and propaganda mainly targeted at its dwindling supporters. In such posts, military supporters blame the NUG and CDM doctors as responsible for the uncontrollable deaths. They hold the CDM accountable for the lack of medical assistance at hospitals and the unrest created by the NUG causing roadblocks and restrictions that makes it difficult to get the necessary help. Some propaganda posts even fabricate news, for instance, postulating that the NUG and CDM doctors have hid medical equipment and oxygen tanks to hinder the military council in delivering medical assistance.

Figure 94: An example of misleading medical treatment regarding COVID-19, which claims that inhaling the leaves of Dregea Volubilis can raise oxygen level (Source: မြန်မာ့သတင်းများ ရွှေတိုင်းကျော်)

Figure 95: Pro-military accounts spreading misinformation that healthcare workers joining CDM hide medical equipments and oxygen cylinders (Source: Up to Date News; Group post at PPP- ပြည်သူ့ရှေ့ဆောင်ပါတီ -ကန့်ဘလူမြို့နယ်)

Some pro-military accounts downplayed the severity of the outbreak by comparing the situation in Myanmar with the spike of cases and deaths in other countries. For example, the following post shared within a pro-military group states that Myanmar is not the only country facing the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and justified deaths in the country as inevitable.

Figure 96: A post shared in a pro-military group comparing Covid-19 cases in Myanmar to those in other countries. (Source: A post at the အမ်ိဳးဘာသာ သာသနာကို ခ်စ္ျမတ္ႏိုးသူ group)