Young people in Mon State who not long ago were actively engaged in campaigning for elections in Myanmar have shifted from protesting in the streets against the military to taking up arms to defend their rights and freedoms.
Thant Sin Lin Htet is among those who was an enthusiastic get-out-the-vote campaigner prior to the November 2020 polls, in which he was also proud to cast a ballot. But when the military staged a coup on Feb 1, citing claims that the elections won overwhelmingly by the National League for Democracy (NLD) were rigged, he took to the streets to join strikes every day.
Many other young people who were active in the election campaign protested in Mawlamyine, the largest city in Mon State, for most of February and March 2021 despite threats to their security. They did not believe the military’s claims of election fraud. But as the violence against…
