Although discussion of books on politics and society and the country’s political situation was the primary goal of most informal study groups, a number of them, especially student groups, also celebrated the anniversary of certain political events by secretly disseminating pamphlets with antigovernment messages and scrawling antigovernment slogans on the walls of classrooms. “In those days [during the socialist period],” notes a former Lanzin Youth leader, “ you were sure to receive pamphlets with antigovernment messages around July 7. Antigovernment students usually did it to celebrate the anniversary of the government’s demolition of the student building on the Rangoon University campus. Whenever July 7 drew near, university authorities asked students like me [Lanzin Youth leaders] to keep an eye on suspicious students” (interview, December 2001). Although the people who celebrated the anniversary of political events usually tried to conduct their activities secretly, their actions were akin to what James Scott has called hidden transcripts: they tried to hide their identities, but they always wanted the government to be aware of what they had done. They also wanted the government to know there were people like them who were unhappy with the regime. Informal study groups often mailed their antigovernment pamphlets to senior government officials as well.
Informal study groups also tried to organize overt demonstrations when they thought that public anger against the government was running high. Whenever people suffered from economic difficulties or some injustice at the hands of the government, informal reading groups often tried to increase the level of public discontent by urging the public to join in their antigovernment activities. Whether an informal reading group organized a successful demonstration depended largely on the political opportunity and the level of public grievance. Large-scale demonstrations were more likely to occur if the opportunity arose when public grievances
were at a peak. Since it was not always easy to recognize a ripe opportunity under an opaque repressive regime, informal study groups usually placed more emphasis on the level of public rancor. Whenever they thought the level of public outrage was high, they tried to organize demonstrations against the government. To be sure, not all informal study groups were equally active in organizing antigovernment activities. Of the forty-two informal groups I studied, twelve confined their activities mainly to political discussions. Of the remaining thirty, only eight played an active role in organizing protests and the rest merely participated in protests organized by other groups. Moreover, not all members of active informal groups were equally active in antigovernment work. According to three activists from three different groups, only 50 to 70 percent of the members took part in overt antigovernment activities. Members of BCP-connected study groups, however, par-ticipated in both covert and overt antigovernment activities more actively than right-wing-affiliated and independent groups. Because the BCP was one of the strongest antigovernment armed groups, association with it could earn one a long prison term, even if one did not participate actively. BCP-affiliated groups therefore tended to attract especially dedicated people as members. All the BCP-affiliated groups I studied were fifteen to twenty years old at the time they ceased to function, whereas independent and right-wing groups tended to break up within eight years.
Although discussion of books on politics and society and the country’s political situation was the primary goal of most informal study groups, a number of them, especially student groups, also celebrated the anniversary of certain political events by secretly disseminating pamphlets with antigovernment messages and scrawling antigovernment slogans on the walls of classrooms. “In those days [during the socialist period],” notes a former Lanzin Youth leader, “ you were sure to receive pamphlets with antigovernment messages around July 7. Antigovernment students usually did it to celebrate the anniversary of the government’s demolition of the student building on the Rangoon University campus. Whenever July 7 drew near, university authorities asked students like me [Lanzin Youth leaders] to keep an eye on suspicious students” (interview, December 2001). Although the people who celebrated the anniversary of political events usually tried to conduct their activities secretly, their actions were akin to what James Scott has called hidden transcripts: they tried to hide their identities, but they always wanted the government to be aware of what they had done. They also wanted the government to know there were people like them who were unhappy with the regime. Informal study groups often mailed their antigovernment pamphlets to senior government officials as well.
Informal study groups also tried to organize overt demonstrations when they thought that public anger against the government was running high. Whenever people suffered from economic difficulties or some injustice at the hands of the government, informal reading groups often tried to increase the level of public discontent by urging the public to join in their antigovernment activities. Whether an informal reading group organized a successful demonstration depended largely on the political opportunity and the level of public grievance. Large-scale demonstrations were more likely to occur if the opportunity arose when public grievances
were at a peak. Since it was not always easy to recognize a ripe opportunity under an opaque repressive regime, informal study groups usually placed more emphasis on the level of public rancor. Whenever they thought the level of public outrage was high, they tried to organize demonstrations against the government. To be sure, not all informal study groups were equally active in organizing antigovernment activities. Of the forty-two informal groups I studied, twelve confined their activities mainly to political discussions. Of the remaining thirty, only eight played an active role in organizing protests and the rest merely participated in protests organized by other groups. Moreover, not all members of active informal groups were equally active in antigovernment work. According to three activists from three different groups, only 50 to 70 percent of the members took part in overt antigovernment activities. Members of BCP-connected study groups, however, par-ticipated in both covert and overt antigovernment activities more actively than right-wing-affiliated and independent groups. Because the BCP was one of the strongest antigovernment armed groups, association with it could earn one a long prison term, even if one did not participate actively. BCP-affiliated groups therefore tended to attract especially dedicated people as members. All the BCP-affiliated groups I studied were fifteen to twenty years old at the time they ceased to function, whereas independent and right-wing groups tended to break up within eight years.
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