| 8888 Uprising | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theMyanmar conflict | |||
| |||
| Date | 12 March – 21 September 1988 (6 months, 1 week and 2 days) | ||
| Location | Burma (nationwide) | ||
| Caused by |
| ||
| Goals | Multi-partyfederalliberal democracy in Burma and theresignation ofNe Win | ||
| Methods | |||
| Resulted in | Military coup d'état on 18 September 1988; demonstrations suppressed by force | ||
| Concessions |
| ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Deaths | 350 (official count) 3,000[4]–10,000[5][6] (estimates) | ||
| Injuries | Unknown | ||
| Arrested | Unknown | ||
|
The8888 Uprising,[a] also known as thePeople Power Uprising[b] and the1988 Uprising,[c] was a series of nationwideprotests,[9] marches, andriots[10] inBurma (present-dayMyanmar) that peaked in August 1988. Key events occurred on 8 August 1988 and therefore it is commonly known as the "8888 Uprising".[11] The protests began as a student movement and were organised largely by university students at theRangoon Arts and Sciences University and theRangoon Institute of Technology.
Since the1962 military coup, theBurma Socialist Programme Party had ruled the country as atotalitarianone-party state, headed by GeneralNe Win. Under the government agenda, called theBurmese Way to Socialism, which involvedeconomic isolation and thestrengthening of themilitary,Burma becameone of the world's most impoverished countries.[12][13][14] Many firms in the formal sector of the economy werenationalised, and the government combinedSoviet-stylecentral planning withBuddhist andtraditional beliefs andsuperstition.[14]
The 8888 uprising was started by students inYangon (Rangoon) on 8 August 1988. Student protests spread throughout the country.[5][12] Hundreds of thousands ofmonks,children,university students,housewives,doctors andcommon people protested against the government.[15][16] The uprising ended on 18 September aftera bloody military coup by theState Law and Order Restoration Council. Thousands of deaths have been attributed to the military during this uprising,[5][4][6] while authorities inBurma put the figure at around 350 people killed.[17][18]
During the crisis,Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as a national icon. When themilitary junta arranged anelection in 1990, her party, theNational League for Democracy, won 81% of the seats in the government (392 out of 492).[19] However, themilitary junta refused to recognise the results and continued to rule the country as theState Law and Order Restoration Council. Aung San Suu Kyi was also placed underhouse arrest. TheState Law and Order Restoration Council would be a cosmetic change from theBurma Socialist Programme Party.[15] Suu Kyi's house arrest was lifted in 2010, when worldwide attention for her peaked again during the making of thebiographical filmThe Lady. TheTatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) again seized control of the country in the2021 Myanmar coup d'état, which began with the imprisonment of thenState CounsellorAung San Suu Kyi. The coup has led to numerous protests and demonstrations against the military-led government. Activists have compared thecurrent coup resistance movement to the 8888 Uprising.[20][21][22]
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Before the crisis,Burma had been ruled by the repressive and isolated regime of GeneralNe Win since 1962. The country had a national debt of $3.5 billion and currency reserves of between $20 million and $35 million, withdebt service ratios standing at half of the national budget.[23]
In the years leading up to the crisis, General Ne Win had imposed two instances of suddencurrency demonetisation that declared certain circulated denominations of currency invalid. These instances led to instantaneous loss of savings for many Burmese citizens and economic instability. On 3 November 1985, the Burmese government declared notes of 20, 50, and 100kyats invalid, without prior warning to the public.[24] Prior to this, circulated denominations were of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 kyats. The stated reason for the demonetisation was to combatblack market activity. The public was given only a short period of time to exchange their 20, 50, and 100 kyat bills, and only 25% of the value of surrendered bills were reimbursed.[24] On 10 November 1985, a week after the initial announcement of demonetisation, new denominations of 25, 35, and 75 kyat bills were announced, with the 75 kyat denomination chosen to commemorate Ne Win's 75th birthday. In November 1985, students gathered andboycotted the government's decision to withdraw Burmese local currency notes. Economic problems coupled withcounter-insurgency required continuous involvement in the international market.[25]
On 5 September 1987, Ne Win announced the demonetisation of the 25, 35, and 75 kyat notes, leaving only the 1, 5, and 10 kyat bills valid.[26] This announcement was also with no prior warning, and this time no exchange for valid tender was allowed. Roughly 60–80% of circulated legal tender was declared invalid without warning, and millions of Burmese citizens had their savings eliminated by this action.[24] On 22 September 1987, the Burmese government introduced new denominations of 45 and 90 kyat notes. The 45 and 90 kyat denominations were chosen because the two numbers are divisible by 9, which was considered lucky by Ne Win.[27]
Students in particular were angry at the 1987 demonetisation as savings for tuition fees were wiped out instantly.[28] Students from theRangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) rioted throughoutRangoon, smashing windows and traffic lights downInsein Road, and universities in Rangoon temporarily closed.[29][page needed] The government later allowed for reimbursement of up to 100 kyat so that students could return home instead of rioting in the cities.[24] With the re-opening of schools in late October 1987,underground groups inRangoon andMandalay produceddissident leaflets which culminated in bombs exploding in November.[30] Police later received threatening letters from underground groups, who organised small protests around the university campus.[31] Meanwhile, larger protests inMandalay involved monks and workers, with some burning government buildings and state businesses.[30]Burmese state media reported little on the protests, but information quickly spread through the students.[30]
After receivingLeast Developed Country status from theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in December 1987, government policy requiring farmers to sell produce below market rates to create greater revenue for the government sparked several, violent rural protests.[32][page needed] The protests were fanned by public letters to Ne Win by former second in command Brigadier GeneralAung Gyi from July 1987, reminding him of the1967 riots and condemning lack of economic reform, describingBurma as "almost a joke" compared to otherSoutheast Asian nations. He was later arrested.[25][33]
On 12 March 1988, students from theRangoon Institute of Technology (RIT) were arguing with out-of-school youths inside theSanda Win tea shop about music playing on a sound system.[7][30] A drunken youth would not return a tape that the RIT students favoured.[34] A brawl followed in which one youth, who was the son of aBurma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) official, was arrested and later released for injuring a student.[30] Students protested at a local police department where 500 riot police were mobilised and in the ensuing clash, one student,Phone Maw, was shot and killed.[30] The incident angered pro-democracy groups and the next day more students rallied at the RIT and spread to other campuses.[35] The students, who had never protested before, increasingly saw themselves asactivists.[30] There was growing resentment towards military rule and there were no channels to address grievances, further exacerbated bypolice brutality, economic mismanagement, and corruption within the government.[7]
By mid-March, several protests had occurred and there was open dissent in the army. Various demonstrations were broken up by usingtear gas canisters to disperse crowds.[27] On 16 March, students demanding an end to one party rule marched towards soldiers atInya Lake when riot police stormed from the rear, clubbing several students to death andraping others.[36] Several students recalled the police shouting, "Don't let them escape" and "Kill them!".[37]
Following the latest protests, authorities announced the closure of universities for several months.[38] By June 1988, large demonstrations of students and sympathisers were a daily sight.[38] Many students, sympathisers and riot police died throughout the month as the protests spread throughout Burma fromRangoon. Largescale protests were reported inPegu,Mandalay,Tavoy,Toungoo,Sittwe,Pakokku,Mergui,Minbu andMyitkyina.[39][page needed] Demonstrators in larger numbers demandedmulti-party democracy, which marked Ne Win's resignation on 23 July 1988.[38] In a valedictory address given that day, Ne Win affirmed that "When the army shoots, it shoots to kill."[27] He also promised amulti-party system, but he appointed the largely dislikedSein Lwin, known as the "Butcher of Rangoon"[40][page needed] to head a new government.[33]
Protests reached their peak in August 1988. Students planned for a nationwide demonstration on 8 August 1988, an auspicious date based on numerological significance.[3] News of the protest reached rural areas and four days prior to the national protest, students across the country were denouncingSein Lwin's regime andTatmadaw troops were being mobilised.[3] Pamphlets and posters appeared on the streets ofRangoon bearing the fightingpeacock insignia of the All-Burma Students Union.[41] Neighbourhood and strike committees were openly formed on the advice of underground activists, many of which were influenced by similar underground movements by workers and monks in the 1980s.[41] Between 2 and 10 August, co-ordinated protests were occurring in most Burmese towns.[42]
In the first few days of the Rangoon protests, activists contactedlawyers andmonks[43][page needed] inMandalay to encourage them to take part in the protests.[44] The students were quickly joined by Burmese citizens from all walks of life, including government workers, Buddhistmonks,air force andnavy personnel, customsofficers,teachers andhospital staff. The demonstrations in the streets ofRangoon became a focal point for other demonstrations, which spread to other states' capitals.[45][page needed] Upwards of 10,000 protesters demonstrated outside theSule Pagoda inRangoon, where demonstrators burned and buriedeffigies ofNe Win andSein Lwin in coffins decorated with demonetised bank notes.[27] Further protests took place around the country atstadiums andhospitals.[46]Monks at theSule Pagoda reported that theBuddha's image had changed shape, with an image in the sky standing on its head.[27] On 3 August, the authorities imposedmartial law from 8 pm to 4 am and a ban on gatherings of more than five people.[46]
Across Burma, people poured out in thousands to join the protests – not just students but also teachers, monks, children, professionals, and trade unionists of every shade. It was on this day, too, that the junta made its first determined attempt at repression. Soldiers opened fire on the demonstrators and hundreds of unarmed marchers were killed. The killings continued for a week, but still the demonstrators continued to flood the streets.
— Amitav Ghosh (2001)[45][page needed]
A general strike, as planned, began on 8 August 1988. Mass demonstrations were held across Burma as ethnic minorities,Buddhists,Christians,Muslims,students, workers and theyoung andold all demonstrated.[27] The first procession circledRangoon, stopping for people to speak. A stage was also erected.[44] Demonstrators from the Rangoon neighbourhoods converged in downtown Rangoon. Only one casualty was reported at this point as a frightenedtraffic policeman fired into thecrowd and fled.[44] (Such marches would occur daily until 19 September.)[44] Protesters kissed the shoes ofsoldiers, in an attempt to persuade them to join the civilian protest, whilst some encircledmilitary officers toprotect them from the crowd and earlier violence[47][48] Over the next four days these demonstrations continued; the government was surprised by the scale of the protests and stated that it promised to heed the demands of the protesters "insofar as possible".[46] Lwin had brought in more soldiers from insurgent areas to deal with the protesters.[49][page needed]
InMandalay Division, a more organised strike committee was headed by lawyers and discussion focused on multi-party democracy and human rights. Many participants in the protests arrived from nearby towns and villages.[50] Farmers who were particularly angry with the government's economic policies joined the protests in Rangoon. In one village, 2,000 of the 5,000 people also went on strike.[50]
A short while later, the authorities opened fire on the protesters.[5][27] Ne Win ordered that "guns were not to shoot upwards," meaning that he was ordering the military to shoot directly at the demonstrators.[45][page needed] Protesters responded by throwingMolotov cocktails, swords, knives, rocks, poisoned darts and bicycle spokes.[27] In one incident, protesters burned a police station and tore apart four fleeing officers.[48] On 10 August, soldiers fired into Rangoon General Hospital, killing nurses and doctors tending to the wounded.[51] State-run Radio Rangoon reported that 1,451 "looters and disturbance makers" had been arrested.[33]
While estimates of the number of casualties surrounding the 8-8-88 demonstrations range from hundreds to 10,000;[5][4][6] military authorities put the figures at about 95 people killed and 240 wounded.[52]
Lwin's sudden and unexplained resignation on 12 August left many protestors confused and jubilant. Security forces exercised greater caution with demonstrators, particularly in neighbourhoods that were entirely controlled by demonstrators and committees.[48] On 19 August, under pressure to form a civilian government, Ne Win's biographer,Maung Maung, was appointed as head of government.[53][page needed] Maung was a legal scholar and the only non-military individual to serve in theBurma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[3] The appointment of Maung briefly resulted in a subsidence of the shooting and protests.
Nationwide demonstrations resumed on 22 August 1988. In Mandalay, 100,000 people protested, including Buddhist monks and 50,000 demonstrated inSittwe.[3] Large marches took places fromTaunggyi andMoulmein to distant ethnic states (particularly where military campaigns had previously taken place),[54] wherered, the symbolic colour fordemocracy was displayed on banners.[3] Two days later,doctors,monks,musicians,actors,lawyers, armyveterans andgovernmentoffice workers joined the protests.[55] It became difficult for committees to control the protests. During this time, demonstrators became increasingly wary of "suspicious looking" people and police and army officers. On one occasion, a local committee mistakenly beheaded a couple thought to have been carrying a bomb.[56] Incidents like these were not as common inMandalay, where protests were more peaceful as they were organised by monks and lawyers.[56]
On 26 August,Aung San Suu Kyi, who had watched the demonstrations from her mother's bedside,[57][page needed] entered the political arena by addressing half a million people atShwedagon Pagoda.[55] It was at this point that she became a symbol for the struggle inBurma, particularly in the eyes of theWestern world.[58] Suu Kyi, as the daughter ofAung San, who led the independence movement, appeared ready to lead the movement for democracy.[59][page needed] Suu Kyi urged the crowd not to turn on the army but find peace throughnon-violent means.[60] At this point in time for many inBurma, the uprising was seen as similar to that of thePeople Power Revolution in thePhilippines in 1986.[33]
Around this time, former Prime MinisterU Nu and retired Brigadier GeneralAung Gyi also re-emerged onto the political scene in what was described as a "democracy summer" when many former democracy leaders returned.[39] Despite the gains made by the democracy movement,Ne Win remained in the background.
During the September congress of 1988, 90% of party delegates (968 out of 1080) voted for a multi-party system of government.[55] TheBurma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) announced they would be organising an election, but the opposition parties called for their immediate resignation from government, allowing an interim government to organise elections. After the BSPP rejected both demands, protesters again took to the streets on 12 September 1988.[55] Nu promised elections within a month, proclaiming a provisional government. Meanwhile, the police and army began fraternising with the protesters.[61] The movement had reached an impasse relying on three hopes: daily demonstrations to force the regime to respond to their demands, encouraging soldiers to defect and appealing to an international audience in the hope thatUnited Nations orUnited States troops would arrive.[62] Some Tatmadaw did defect, but only in limited numbers, mostly from the Navy.[63]Stephen Solarz who had experienced the recent democracy protests in thePhilippines andSouth Korea arrived inBurma in September encouraging the regime to reform, which echoed the policy of theUnited States government towards Burma.[64][page needed]
By mid-September, the protests grew more violent and lawless, with soldiers deliberately leading protesters into skirmishes that the army easily won.[65] Protesters demanded more immediate change, and distrusted steps for incremental reform.[66][page needed]
| Date | 18 September 1988 |
|---|---|
| Location | Rangoon,Burma (present-dayYangon,Myanmar) |
| Type | Military coup |
| Cause | 8888 Uprising |
| Motive | Regime change |
| Organised by | GeneralSaw Maung |
| Participants | Tatmadaw |
| Outcome | Formation of a military junta, theState Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
|
If the military shoots, it has no tradition of shooting into the air. It shoots straight to kill.
On 18 September 1988, the military retook power in the country. GeneralSaw Maung repealed the 1974 constitution and established theState Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), "imposing more draconian measures than Ne Win had imposed."[69][page needed] After Maung had imposed martial law, the protests were violently broken up. The government announced on the state-run radio that the military had assumed power in the people's interest, "in order to bring a timely halt to the deteriorating conditions on all sides all over the country."[70]Tatmadaw troops went through cities throughoutBurma, indiscriminately firing on protestors.[71]
Although an exact body count has not been determined as bodies were often cremated, it is estimated[by whom?] that within the first week of securing power, 1,000students,monks, andschoolchildren werekilled, and another 500 were killed whilst protesting outside the United States embassy[51] – footage caught by a cameraman nearby who distributed the footage to the world's media.[72] Maung described the dead as "looters".[72] Protestors were also pursued into the jungle and some students took up training on thecountry's borders with Thailand.[65]
"I would like every country in the world to recognize the fact that the people of Burma are being shot down for no reason at all."
By the end of September, there were around 3,000 estimated deaths and unknown number of injured,[65] with 1,000 deaths in Rangoon alone.[71] At this point in time, Aung San Suu Kyi appealed for help.[61] On 21 September, the government had regained control of the country,[71] with the movement effectively collapsing in October.[61] By the end of 1988, it was estimated[by whom?] that 10,000 people, including protesters and soldiers, had been killed.[6][page needed]
Many in Burma believed that the regime would have collapsed if the United Nations and neighbouring countries had refused to recognise the legitimacy of the coup.[73] Western governments and Japan cut aid to the country.[72] Among Burma's neighbours,India was most critical; condemning the suppression, closing borders and setting up refugee camps along its border with Burma.[74] By 1989, 6,000NLD supporters had been detained and those who fled to the ethnic border areas, such asKawthoolei, formed groups with those who sought greaterself-determination.[75] It was estimated 10,000 had fled to mountains which were controlled by ethnic insurgents such as theKaren National Liberation Army (KNLA), and many of them later trained to become soldiers.[76][77]
After the uprising, the SLORC waged a "clumsy propaganda" campaign against those who had organised the protests.[78] Intelligence Chief GeneralKhin Nyunt, heldEnglish-language press conferences which were aimed at giving foreign diplomats and the media a favourable account of the SLORC's response to the protests.[78][79] During this period, more restrictions were imposed upon theBurmese media, denying it the relative freedom to report news which it had been able to exercise at the peak of the protests. In the conferences, he detailed a conspiracy in whichthe right was plotting to overthrow the regime with the assistance of "subversive foreigners" and a conspiracy in whichthe left was plotting to overthrow the State.[78] Despite the conferences, few believed the government's version of events.[78] While these conferences were going on, the SLORC was secretly negotiating withmutineers.[79]
Between 1988 and 2000, the Burmese government established 20 museums which detailed the military's central role throughoutBurma's history and the size of the military increased from 180,000 to 400,000.[61] The Burmese government also kept schools and universities closed in order to prevent future uprisings.[61] Initially,Aung San Suu Kyi,U Tin Oo andAung Gyi publicly rejected the SLORC's offer to hold elections the following year, claiming that they could not be freely held while Burma was under military rule.[80][81]
Today, the uprising is commemorated by Burmeseexpatriates and citizens. InThailand, students also commemorate the uprising every 8 August.[82] On the 20th anniversary of the uprising, 48 activists were arrested for commemorating the event in Burma.[83] The event garnered much support for the Burmese people internationally.Poems were written by students who participated in the protests. The1995 filmBeyond Rangoon is a fictionalized drama which is based on the events that took place during the uprising.
The uprising led to the death and imprisonment of thousands of individuals. Many of the deaths occurred inside the prisons, where prisoners of conscience were subjected to inhumane torture and deprived of basic provisions, such as food, water, medicine, and sanitation. From 1988 to 2012, the military and the police illegally detained and imprisoned tens of thousands of leaders of the Burmese pro-democracy movement, as well asintellectuals,artists,students, andhuman rights activists.Pyone Cho, one of the leaders of the uprising, spent 20 years of his adult life in prison.Ko Ko Gyi, anotherleader of the uprising, spent 18 years of his life inprison.Min Ko Naing was placed insolitary confinement for nine years for his role as aleader of the uprising.[84] Because the uprising began as astudent movement, many of the individuals who werearrested,imprisoned,tortured, andkilled by the police and the military werehigh school anduniversity students.
Many of the student leaders of the uprising became lifelong human rights activists and leaders of the Burmese pro-democracy movement. Nineteen years later, many of these same activists also played a role in the2007 Saffron Revolution. The88 Generation Students Group, which is named after the events of 8 August 1988, organised one of the first protests which eventually culminated in theSaffron Revolution. But prior to the outbreak of large-scale demonstrations, its members were arrested and given lengthy prison sentences of up to 65 years. The activists who were arrested included prominent individuals such asMin Ko Naing,Mya Aye,Htay Kywe,Mie Mie,Ko Ko Gyi, Pyone Cho, Min Zeyar, Ant Bwe Kyaw, andNilar Thein.[85] Though not an 88 Generation Students Group member, a solo protesterOhn Than also joined the demonstration.[86] All of them were released in ageneral amnesty in 2012. They continue to work as politicians and human rights activists in Myanmar. They also campaigned for theNational League for Democracy (NLD) in the2015 general election. Pyone Cho, one of the main leaders of the 88 Generation, was elected to theHouse of Representatives in the 2015 Election.
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