Thread by @LeniDiamond

THREAD

While I strongly support #R2PforMyanmar ASAP, I believe there's much vital work that the #CivilDisobedienceMovement could be doing now that it isn't doing, namely, waging a fierce & effective propaganda campaign to accelerate defections from #MyanmarPolice & #Tatmadaw 1/n

The ideas I'll be presenting don't originate w/ me, an American w/o #Burma-related expertise, but are derived from the work & imagination of Burmese like @Rangoon_Film & @JusticeMyanmar along w/ a seminal interview done by @mrattkthu w/ a #Tatmadaw defector, Nyi Thura. 2/n

This interview hasn't gotten nearly the attn it deserves. With the help of @PhyoBurmaMade, who kindly translated the entire interview for a rando American (😄thank you!🙏), I'll begin by identifying what strike me as valuable points from that @mrattkthu interview 3/n
#NyiThuta

I hope we'll also keep in mind an earlier interview that @mrattkthu did with Capt Kyaw Soe Tun, who has been under arrest for a month now, if he's still alive. He advised CDM to avoid politicizing the #2021 uprising with red colors & partisan slogans 4/n
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1357597…

Before getting to what I think are major takeaways from @mrattkthu interview w/ Nyi Thuta, I'd note that it has transformed my thinking:

✨#Tatmadaw practices INTERNAL TERRORISM, not just terrorism aimed at The Other✨

I kind of felt that, but Nyi Thuta makes it explicit. 5/n

And this leads to something counterintuitive but useful, a staple of wartime propaganda:

Turn your hated enemy into a victim to whom you offer sympathy & protection, because mocking & demoralizing him only gets you so far. 6/n
#CivilDisobedienceMovement #Mar9Coup #propaganda

Nyi Thuta shows us how. As he told @mrattkthu on Mar 4:

1. Many soldiers secretly oppose the #MyanmarCoup

2. They see the risks of joining CDM as too high - for now

3. There is massive distrust within the ranks, fear of TMD peers & even TMD family members.

7/n

4. Many soldiers do believe #Tatmadaw lies that the #NLD cheated in the elections. Others do not.

5. Soldiers resent their brutalization by higher ups: Army law allows for them to be arrested at any time (for complaining, back talk, missing assembly etc etc)

#NyiThuta
8/n

6. Before they will consider defecting, soldiers will need a GUARANTEE from @CrphMyanmar that they will have complete IMMUNITY from charges of desertion.🔥

(This is where top leadership is CRUCIAL)
@DrSasa22222 @JusticeMyanmar @aapp_burma @Myanmar_Now_Eng @maung_saungkha
9/n

Nyi Thuta: "Although we [soldiers] are poor, we don’t need money, just protection (amnesty), so that we can survive."

The above 6 points may form the foundation of sympathy, yes sympathy, upon which CDM can build an effective LEAFLET CAMPAIGN to incite mass defections. ⚡️

10/n

Also related to the plan for sympathetic appeals to soldiers to defect is this proud statement by Nyi Thuta. I think it should be FOREGROUNDED in any appeal for mass defections.

Think like the #Tatmadaw. Use the soldiers' own logic & indoctrination for your own cause.
👇

11/n

Other valuable propaganda points suggested by the interview include the following:

Many soldiers must admire the heroism of #CDM.

Nyi Thuta:

@mrattkthu @cvdom2021
#civildisobediencemovement

12/n

Somewhat less important but well worth noting:

Even a 500K plus standing army seems to be stretched a bit thin!🤯

Protests going on in 203 cities and towns, according to Capt. Nyi Thuta.

This can also be exploited to make #Tatmadaw seem like the hopeless "cause."

👇
13/n

Notwithstanding the extreme fear of reprisals if the soldiers join #CDM & the great difficulties leaving a🪖 compound, Nyi Thuta expects more defections in the future. (How can CDM make this come to pass? @Rangoon_Film has the answer, I think. More on that in a moment.)

14/n

Nyi Thuta:

"All of our social media accounts are being monitored and controlled by the #Tatmadaw. We aren't allowed to post what we want, especially to those well known social media accounts that can influence the public. That’s why we can’t be on #socialmedia much."
15/n

Given that constraint, it is all the more important that we consider the idea of a MASS LEAFLET CAMPAIGN, to be undertaken in every town & city.

Here is where @Rangoon_Film comes in, and also @JusticeMyanmar, which has provided great fodder for counter-terrorist propaganda
16/n

Rangoon has proposed that @CrphMyanmar declare a return to the original name of "Armed Forces Day": #ResistanceDay (March 27).

This was the original name, but as we know, TMD doesn't like resistance.😅
17/n

The @CrphMyanmar shd make this announcement immediately. It must also pledge amnesty for defectors & humane military reforms when the legitimate govt is restored. #CivilDisobedienceMovement should leave leaflets everywhere for soldiers to find containing this promise.🔥
18/n

CRUCIALLY, @CrphMyanmar should declare #ResistanceDay, March 27, to be the day when patriotic soldiers can defect EN MASSE to prove their loyalty to the nation & their desire to restore peace & stability. 🔥

@JusticeMyanmar
19/n

But BEFORE March 27, as @Rangoon_Film wisely pointed out, soldiers should be given PLENTY to think about. The CDM LEAFLET CAMPAIGN must therefore begin ASAP and be reinforced by endless repetition of effective themes of persuasion.

20/n

Some of these have already been touched upon by Captain Nyi Thuta. Others are suggested by the wonderful, ongoing efforts of @justicemyanmar:

"Soldiers, how long will you let the corrupt & selfish fat cats make fools of you?"

https://twitter.com/JusticeMyanmar/status/1366978128913068037

21/n

Thread's getting too long sry!, so I'll try to wrap up w/ a few conclusions, including those suggested to me by @Rangoon_Film

1. Central leadership is still vital. Some campaigns are best *initiated* at the top. A DefectionDay LEAFLET CAMPAIGN is one of them @CrphMyanmar 22/n

2.There is so much cause for optimism! Soldiers CAN be reached. The internet isn't everything. PEOPLE power is everything. Wartime propaganda against the enemy matters as much as it did in WW2! 23/n

3. The brave resisters in every part of #Burma / #Myanmar are enormously fearless, creative & resilient. They can use the above & much else to wage a civilian-driven propaganda war as never before seen in history.

As HKers would say: ADD OIL! 💪 24/24