Episode #43: Understanding the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)
Those outside of Myanmar following news of the Burmese protests may well have heard about the importance of the “CDM” (Civil Disobedience Movement), including the fact that it was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, some may still not be clear about the CDM’s role in Myanmar’s wider protest movement. To speak to this, enter this episode’s guest. For nearly a decade, our guest has been working in public sector reform, running capacity-building training sessions. Due to safety concerns, we are not stating her name.
She takes great pride in her work as a trainer. She does not follow the traditional Burmese style of lecture-based training, but rather leads experiential learning sessions in which participants share their background knowledge in small group formats. Having been in this field for many years and worked through a series of critical government and policy changes, she was especially optimistic about the results of the recent democratic election, commenting, “All this positive progress made me really motivated for this country! I had very positive feeling for the next government before the coup.”
Of course, all this changed on February 1st, when the military illegally seized power. Initially, hundreds of civil servants simply took a leave and decided not to come to the office, which ultimately led to the wider (and increasingly more organized) protest movement known as “CDM”. Our guest soon found herself thrust into an unexpected role, with many of her former trainees asking for advice on what to do. Should they join CDM or continue on in their post? If they left, what support might they expect? What dangers would they and their families face?
She sought the help of several international lawyers familiar with the country’s civil servant laws, and she in turn passed that information on to the best of her ability, so those workers could make more informed decisions. At the same time, she also began getting a fund together from friends and supporters that could be used to support any civil servants who decided to join the movement. Those who left their job are given a minimum of 50,000 kyat ($35) to subsidize their move from their government-issued housing to their home village.
Myanmar’s civil servants were soon caught in a tug-of-war between the movement and the military, with both sides engaging in an online social shaming campaign against those still going to the office for opposite reasons, the military pressuring them to stay working, and the protesters encouraging them to stop. But she notes that once protesters began to get killed in larger numbers by military forces, a shift occurred, with many of those who had initially not supported CDM now changing their minds, and suddenly refusing to work.
The guest estimates that up to 70-80% of all government workers are not going to the office, and in some departments, like Education, it is nearly 100%. The success of the movement has crippled the military regime, as the country they have taken over literally cannot run anymore. That, in turn, has put the guest in danger because of her involvement. After her home was invaded and searched, she went into hiding.
As you can imagined, her level of stress has been overwhelming, and her refuge has been meditation and aroma therapy. She has a daily sitting practice, and follows the teachings of both Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw. Although she didn’t have a meditation practice before the pandemic, she now finds that this provides much-needed stability to the mind, which then allows her to be more effective throughout her work.
For those who are inspired to hear about the work our guest is leading, please make a donation on our site, and indicate you would like these funds to go towards her CDM effort.
"That's why they are now killing us every day."
I spoke to one of the early architects of the CDM movement, who had been training civil servants for nearly the last decade. She describes how because of CDM's overall success, much of the country in effect became ungovernable, leading the Tatmadaw to respond the only way they know how: with indiscriminate violence and overwhelming brutality. Shortly after this interview was conducted, the guest herself was issued an arrest warrant, and remains in hiding to this day, where she continues her effort to support government employees refusing to go to work.