A further push for nonviolence
We are so thrilled to begin supporting Operation Hanoi Hannah. This small group of activists is committed to finding a nonviolent solution to the crisis, and after months of research and self-study, they have begun modeling one of their activities off of the legendary “Hanoi Hannah” of the Vietnam War. They write:
Hanoi Hannah was the name of a woman who became famous among US soldiers for her propaganda broadcasts on Radio Hanoi during the Vietnam War. Her scripts were written by the North Vietnamese Army and were intended to frighten and shame the soldiers into leaving their posts. Many soldiers were persuaded into "fragging" their superior officers, throwing frag grenades into the camps where the superiors reside and assassinating them. She made three broadcasts a day, reading a list of newly killed or imprisoned Americans, and playing popular US anti-war songs to incite feelings of nostalgia and home-sickness, attempting to persuade the US GIs that the US involvement in the Vietnam War was unjust and immoral. She also received and played recorded messages from Americans who were against the war, as she thought these messages were the most effective of all as "Americans will believe their own people rather than the adversary."
On their website, the group offers a range of high-quality recordings featuring a variety of different defection strategies and messages. They are all free to be downloaded and used anywhere they could be effective. Amazingly, other protesters have started to take these tracks and are now broadcasting them on hidden speakers, placed in areas where soldiers are known to be on patrol. Following is an example of one such track:
Soldiers then go into a frenzy trying to find these hidden speakers piping in sound coming from all directions, with messages calling on their humanity and encouraging them to stop killing. By necessity, these speakers are for one-time use. If properly hidden, they can broadcast this message for an hour or two, but once found, they will be confiscated and likely destroyed.
We are trying to support this group by acquiring many more of these speakers to hide and play these targeted defection messages. Every soldier affected by these tracks means one less armed aggressor firing bullets at innocent civilians. It may prove to be a remarkably effective way to remove killing machines off the street and further weaken the resolve of the Tatmadaw.
For this reason, we are asking for your support to contribute to our fund to produce more tracks, and we ar looking into purchasing speakers where these messages can be played throughout.