<p><strong>The people got a taste of democracy.</strong> Unlike in previous crises, most protesters are not calling for an abrupt end to a decades-long military regime but rather want Myanmar to go back to the pre-coup status quo on January 31 — especially young people. </p><p>Myanmar has one of the youngest populations in Southeast Asia, with a median age of <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/myanmar-population" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">28.2</a>, and five million <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/11/06/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/myanmar-youth-election/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">voted for the first time</a> in the November election. For the youth, democracy is not a nice-to-have but the only possible system, as well as the only one they know.</p><p>Like their peers <a href="https://www.gzeromedia.com/young-thais-take-on-the-generals-and-the-king" target="_self">calling out</a> the decaying military-royal stranglehold on power in neighboring Thailand, young people in Myanmar are <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/11/myanmars-protesters-look-to-future-not-past-as-they-battle-coup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unwilling to wait</a> for the junta to deliver on its promise of holding a fresh election in a year. They are angry at the generals for taking away their basic freedoms, and are <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210204-myanmar-s-youth-weigh-defiance-against-crackdown-fears-after-coup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">not as afraid</a> as their parents of the junta's goons because most have only faint memories of iron-fisted military rule. </p><p><strong>The junta can't party like it's 1988 (or 2007).</strong> When the military crushed the last two major uprisings, it did so under the cover of news blackouts. That's impossible in 2021 because of the World Wide Web, which pre-democratic Myanmar was barely connected to.</p><p>Short of taking the entire country offline, the generals have so far imposed a nighttime "<a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2021/feb/18/military-governments-night-time-curfew-internet-outage-affects-myanmars-online-businesses-2265672.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">internet curfew</a>" and blocked access to social media. However, tech-savvy protesters have been able to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8ekx/how-to-bypass-digital-dictatorship-during-the-myanmar-coup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">circumvent</a> these restrictions, allowing them to continue to mobilize on the streets and broadcast their actions. A brutal repression of the protests would likely be live-streamed on Facebook, a nightmare scenario for the junta.</p><p>The military's decision to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-facebook/myanmar-internet-providers-block-facebook-services-after-government-order-idUSKBN2A32ZE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">block Facebook</a> is arguably the most unpopular thing the junta has done since it seized power in a country where for about half the population, the platform "<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55929654" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">is the internet</a>" and the preferred way to communicate with others. Facebook has responded by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/12/tech/facebook-myanmar-military-intl-hnk/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unfriending</a> the generals, who risk even more public discontent if the ban continues much longer.</p><p><strong>The economy loves freedom.</strong> When Myanmar started embracing democracy in the 2010s, it also <a href="https://globalriskinsights.com/2016/04/burma-liberalization-creates-opportunities/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">opened up the economy</a> to foreign investment and, more importantly, to the private sector. A nationwide strike would have been unheard of just ten years ago, when most businesses were directly or indirectly controlled by the state.</p><p>Now, private sector employees cannot be forced to go to work by the state, nor risk getting fired for attending an anti-government rally. If the protests continue, striking workers could do severe damage to an economy that was <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/covid-19-could-leave-myanmars-economy-in-ruins/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">already struggling</a> before the coup due to COVID.</p><p>Moreover, prolonged economic disruption will sooner or later hit the junta where it hurts the most — its pocket. In 2011, the military used an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/world/asia/08myanmar.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">opaque privatization law</a> to acquire hundreds of thousands of former state-run enterprises in key sectors like beer, tobacco, mining, tourism, real estate, and telecommunications. If the economy feels more pain, the generals will be imperiling their own <a href="https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/myanmar-coup-piles-pressure-militarys-business-empire" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">business empire</a>.</p><strong>What happens next?</strong> Whether Myanmar's post-coup crisis will be resolved peacefully or not remains to be seen, but it's clear that the generals overplayed their hand. The country has changed — and they missed it.
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