The Myanmar communities in Bangkok and Chiang Mai gathered last Thursday (1 February) to mourn the lives lost after the 1 February 2021 military coup and to call for humanitarian aid to be delivered to refugees.

A participant flashing the three-finger salute during the gathering in front of the UN hedquarters in Bangkok.

In Bangkok, a gathering organized by the Myanmar migrant worker Bright Future network took place in front of the UN headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Nok Road. Suraj Gigi, leader of the network, said that they wanted to tell the world that the Myanmar community in Thailand still stands against the Myanmar military and mourns the loss of lives, livelihoods, and human dignity in their homeland after the coup.

Suraj said that people in Myanmar are living in hardship, and that his network wanted to show support for the ethnic groups fighting the Myanmar military.

“After three years, I feel more encouraged, because I have learned that we took over more territory; I want to thank every group that has taken up arms to fight for Myanmar’s democracy,” he said.

Suraj said he expected more from ASEAN and the UN, and called on the Thai authorities to start negotiations with anti-junta groups, the National Unity Government (NUG), and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar to deliver humanitarian aid and facilitate peace talks.

He also said that Thai authorities should facilitate the process of obtaining a work permit for Myanmar migrant workers, including those who resist a policy imposed by the junta of taxing them when they go to the Myanmar Embassy to obtain documents.

In 2023, the Myanmar military government required all Myanmar nationals obtaining important documents from embassies to pay a tax of 2% of their average monthly pay. In Thailand, the fee is around 7,500 baht, or 150 baht per month. Workers can pay in increments of 3 or 6 months, but anyone who refuses to pay will not be able to obtain documents, including visa renewals.

Some Myanmar migrant workers have been resisting this policy out of concern that the military government would use the money to buy weapons to use against citizens fighting the junta.

The Bright Future Group also issued a statement noting how people in Myanmar rose up against the junta, forming the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF). It stated that as a result of their resistance, over 25,000 people have been detained, some 4000 have been killed and countless other have fled the country.

The group called on the Thai authorities to allow work permit renewal for Myanmar nationals who refuse to pay the 2% tax, and to facilitate work permit renewal without requiring them to go through an unnecessary Certificate of Identity process.

It also called for the Thai government to support the ASEAN chair in providing humanitarian aid across Myanmar borders by opening a humanitarian corridor, providing shelter for displaced people, and working with the NUG and ethnic armed groups to deliver humanitarian aid. Thai authorities were also called upon to mediate the peace process in Myanmar.

Participants in the gathering at the Myanmar Embassy holding signs calling attention to the situation in Myanmar and Palestine. (Photo by Workers' Union)

Another gathering also took place in the evening in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok, organised by the Milk Tea Alliance Thailand (MTAT) to show support for the people of Myanmar. They called on the Thai government to provide aid for displaced people, allow civil society organizations to deliver humanitarian aid to Myanmar, and to allow international non-government organizations to access border areas and places under junta control. The Myanmar government must also end its attack on humanitarian and medical personnel and humanitarian facilities.

Thai and Myanmar activists gathering at Thapae gates in Chiang Mai.

In Chiang Mai, Thai and Myanmar activists gather at Thapae Gate, a tourist landmark in Chiang Mai’s old town, to stage a performance in remembrance of the lives lost after the coup.

The activists read a statement calling for the Thai authorities to help refugees fleeing Myanmar and to work with civil society groups and the ASEAN community to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid.

They also called on the international community to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees fleeing Myanmar and hold the junta accountable for their crimes by imposing economic sanction on the government and Myanmar oil and gas development.  To stop the junta from bombing civilians, they also asked that jet fuel sales to the country be sanctioned.