By Mong Palatino
Colored ribbons have emerged as symbols of those resisting creeping militarization in the country.
The appointment of military officers to various civilian agencies is being resisted by some sectors in Myanmar.
Last August, health workers launched a black ribbon movement to protest the entry of 13 military officers into the Ministry of Health. A month later, lawyers and some judges wore yellow ribbons to denounce the deployment of military officers into the Supreme Court.
Early this week, teachers vowed to promote green ribbons as a symbol of defiance against the hiring of army officials by the education ministry. In Mandalay, electrical engineers distributed blue ribbons after vacant technological management posts in the region’s Ministry of Electric Power were reportedly given to senior military officers. Meanwhile, some geologists working in the Ministry of Energy announced the formation of a red ribbon movement to protest the appointment of army personnel in the agency.
Authors and poets who are wary of the creeping militarization of civilian bodies in Myanmar have recently initiated a purple ribbon campaign aimed at stopping the continued nomination of active and retired army officials in various government agencies.
The ribbon movement began in the health sector. The announcement that senior army officials with no medical experience would occupy top positions in the Ministry of Health was widely criticized by doctors and other health professionals. Two days after this was reported in the news, a black ribbon movement emerged enjoining medical professionals to oppose the “military infiltration” of the ministry.
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