Staff members and their families in Naypyidaw have revealed that they are being forced to attend the deserted water festival street event to create an appearance of crowds, despite being victims of recent earthquake damage. The event was officially opened on April 13th in the afternoon, with military council leaders and generals making an appearance. Following their visit, department heads began pressuring non-CDM staff members and their families to mandatorily attend the festival events.
Officials have arranged a rotation system where staff members and their families, who are currently living in temporary shelters due to earthquake damage, must attend the festival for at least one day. Transportation has been arranged for these forced attendees. During both the pre-water festival day and the first day of celebrations, the event remained largely empty except for the coerced staff members, their families, and some villagers from surrounding areas of Naypyidaw. Additionally, the military council has mandated internal water festival celebrations at military hospitals and government ministries, requiring staff to take turns preparing traditional festival foods such as Mont Lone Yay Paw, Shwe Yin Aye, Mont Let Saung, and festival rice dishes as charitable offerings.
Staff members have expressed their frustration at being forced to participate in festival activities while still dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake and living in temporary shelters. A sergeant from the Military Engineering Department in Zeya Thiri Township shared that while previous years’ celebrations were enjoyable, this year’s festival holds no meaning as many have lost their homes and loved ones. The forced participation mandated by the military council has led to decreased morale among staff members and their families, effectively eliminating any genuine festive spirit from the water festival celebrations. The stark contrast between the current situation and previous years’ voluntary participation highlights the oppressive nature of the military council’s attempts to create an artificial appearance of normalcy and celebration.
