The Labor Movement in Myanmar Is Facing Brutal Retaliation

Democratic forces in Myanmar have been fighting for more than three years against a brutal military junta supported by China and Russia. Trade unions are a crucial part of the resistance movement, and labor activists have faced severe retaliation.

Khaing Zar Aung, the president of the Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar, has been blacklisted by the junta and forced to live in exile. Khaing Zar is a campaigner for workers’ rights and democratic freedoms in her home country and has become the international face of the Myanmar labor movement’s resistance.

Khaing Zar Aung was awarded the Arthur Svennson International Prize for Trade Union Rights, a well-known award given to defenders of labor freedoms. Below is a transcript of the speech she gave at the awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on June 12, 2024.

— Frank Hoffer

Dear Brothers, Sisters, and Comrades,

We are in a fight not just for our rights and freedoms but for the essence of democracy. This is a long and bitter fight that requires resilience, sacrifice, and strong determination.

Since the military coup in February 2021, the military has tried to force us into subordination with killings, torture, bombing, countless arrests, and displacement. Since then, over three million people have been internally displaced. At least 8,000 civilians, including many trade unionists, have died. Seventy percent of the total nation has faced armed clashes.

More than 86,000 buildings, including schools and health care facilities, have been attacked and destroyed. Around 400,000 government employees who joined the civil disobedience movement have lost their jobs and income. At least 26,799 people have been arrested, among them over 500 trade unionists.

For…