hankyoreh

Sogang University students hold a candlelight vigil on their campus on the evening of March 24 to pray for peace and democracy in Myanmar. (Chang Chul-kyu/The Hankyoreh)

The repression of the anti-coup movement in Myanmar by the Myanmar military has reached an extreme. Since the first victim was shot in the head during a demonstration on Feb. 19, more than 300 additional people have been killed so far, including a seven-year-old girl who was shot by police in her own home.

In light of this, Sogang University students held a candlelight vigil on the evening of March 24 to pray for peace and democracy in Myanmar. The students, along with three young adults from Myanmar and the university chaplain Fr. Kim Sang-yong, prayed for the victims of state violence in Myanmar and called for the release of protesters and an end to the violence.

Those who wish to support the struggle in Myanmar, which resembles the South Korean government’s crackdown of democracy protests in Gwangju in 1980, can do so through the Myanmar Democracy Network, an association of Myanmar nationals living in Korea and 30 or so civic groups. You can also send a video message expressing your support for the people of Myanmar via email to the Korean Solidarity for the Overseas Community Organization, which will deliver your message after translating it into Burmese.

You can also support free, independent journalism in Myanmar by donating directly to Myanmar Now, whose reporters are risking their lives to report on what is going on in their country, since all media that don’t support the coup were ordered to shut down on Feb. 17.

There are things we can and must do for the people of Myanmar.

By Chang Chul-kyu, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]