Growing unrest in Myanmar, Colombia legalises Venezuelan migrants and Clubhouse enters the chat
8 - 14 February 2021
Happy Lunar New Year!
Wishing you happiness, prosperity and good health 😊
MYANMAR COUP: THE LATEST
Myanmar has experienced nine consecutive days of pro-democracy rallies since the military (known as Tatmadaw) staged a coup on 1 February.
Peaceful protests across the Southeast Asian country have swelled, pulling in activists, monks, professional associations and university students. Reports say the police are increasingly responding with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets.
On Monday, Myanmar’s junta leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, made his first public address and said his government wouldn’t be the same as past military ones. The commander-in-chief sought to reassure diplomats and investors by stating that there would be no change to foreign or economic policy.
But General Min Aung Hlaing is definitely tightening the screws at home as demonstrators continue to resist the Tatmadaw and demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. A draft Cyber Security Law, which was leaked online, would require all internet service providers to keep data onshore and give the government full access to the servers. The bill could even allow the military to block websites and imprison critics.
On Saturday, the Tatmadaw ordered Myanmar’s civil servants to return to work while suspending several key laws protecting citizens’ rights.
The impact of new US sanctions, as authorised by President Joe Biden, could take months to filter through - and analysts are concerned the effect might end up being fairly muted. As I mentioned in the last edition of Deep Dive, Myanmar’s top trading and investment partners are in Asia-Pacific, where governments have adopted a non-interference stance.
Furthermore, the Tatmadaw’s wealth and vast business interests rely on Myanmar’s coveted natural resources (e.g. petroleum, rubies) and domestic consumption (e.g. beer, tourism).
What’s proving to be a significant challenge for the military this time around, though, is the show of unity against General Min Aung Hlaing and the junta. The quasi-democratic system, with Suu Kyi as its civilian face, let the Burmese people (particularly the Buddhist Bamar majority) enjoy expanded freedoms, international exposure, the right to vote and improved broadband penetration. Consequently, the population’s expectations have shifted drastically and many appear ready to push back as much as they can.
A HUMANITARIAN GESTURE
Colombia is offering safe harbour to nearly a million undocumented Venezuelans in a move the UN is calling “an extraordinary display of humanity”.
On Monday, Colombian President Ivan Duque announced that his government would register scores of Venezuelan migrants and refugees living in the country. Venezuelans who arrived before 31 January 2021 will be eligible for 10-year residence permits, giving them employment opportunities and access to social services.
An estimated 4.6 million Venezuelan citizens have fled to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Approximately 1.7 million are in Colombia, and 966,000 of them are without proper papers.
The migration crisis has been triggered by Venezuela’s painful economic recession and human rights abuses, which have worsened under the Maduro regime. As the exodus grows, think tanks and NGOs warn that drug gangs and smugglers are taking advantage of vulnerable people who are trying to escape difficult conditions.
Although Peru, Ecuador and Chile are restricting entry to Venezuelan migrants, Colombia maintains an open-door policy. On the political front, Duque wants to increase diplomatic pressure on Nicolas Maduro. Then there’s the historic neighbourly duty - in previous decades, oil-rich Venezuela was a haven for thousands of Colombians fleeing guerrilla warfare.
As for economics, the Brookings Institute says the successful integration of young Venezuelan workers into the Colombian labour force will be a long-term gain for Bogota.
However, there are worries about the strain that the influx is putting on Colombia’s public organisations and finances, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. In an op-ed in the Washington Post last year, Duque said he hoped “the world will rise to the occasion” regarding donations and assistance. For instance, migrant education alone costs Colombia US$160 million annually.
For a firsthand view of Venezuelan migrant flows into Colombia, check out this Vox Borders report (published in November 2018 but remains relevant).
SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ
Clubhouse is the hot new social media platform whose name is about to pop up on your radar.
One big reason is the Elon Musk factor. The Tesla boss recently shared his musings, via the app, for an hour and a half - and a few days ago he tweeted that he’ll be speaking to Kanye West on Clubhouse in the not too distant future.
Since its launch in March 2020, Clubhouse has raised millions of dollars from investors, notably powerful venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. In January, there was fresh speculation about whether the company had achieved ‘unicorn’ status, i.e. a startup with a valuation over US$1 billion.
So what makes Clubhouse different to Facebook Live, IGTV, Zoom or Joe Rogan’s podcast? The hook is its invite-only, live audio stream. The app’s participants - currently limited to Apple iPhone users who know an existing member - can host private chat rooms or public discussions with hundreds of people.
According to co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, the goal of Clubhouse is to foster an intimate environment for authentic and respectful conversations on a variety of topics, from hip hop to cooking to automation.
“Our north star was to create something where you could close the app at the end of the session feeling better than you did when you opened it, because you had deepened friendships, met new people and learned.”
While Clubhouse itself doesn’t record these audio sessions, some high-profile chats are available on YouTube (with permission apparently). That’s because celebrities like Jared Leto and Kevin Hart have dabbled in the forums.
But many tech reporters say Clubhouse attracts a specific type of audience:
Clubhouse also grabbed headlines this week after being blocked by the Chinese authorities. Hundreds of mainland Chinese netizens had found ways to join the app, and several of them engaged in uncensored conversations on the Three Ts (Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen Square), Hong Kong and the plight of Uighurs in Xinjiang.
However, Beijing’s Great Firewall apparatus quickly erected barriers around Clubhouse, relegating it to the VPN zone along with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google etc.
China’s actions have brought attention to data collection and member privacy on Clubhouse. Additionally, there are complaints about content moderation and bullying as well as the exclusion of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Still, Clubhouse’s soaring popularity means other executives in Silicon Valley are watching - or listening. Mark Zuckerberg appeared briefly on it to wax lyrical about augmented and virtual reality. The format seemed to make an impression as sources have told the New York Times that Facebook is building a similar network.
ELSEWHERE ON THE INTERNET…
How’s this for a crafty bit of marketing. Weetabix, the quintessential British breakfast cereal, suggested a few off-piste pairings on its Twitter account this week and created its own viral content.
The photo of baked beans slathered on Weetabix biscuits elicited responses from dozens of official accounts, including Domino’s Pizza (asked if this was worse than pineapple on pizza), the state of Israel (suggested hummus instead), Tinder (disliked the “match”), Virgin Atlantic (said the idea didn’t “fly” with them), Shakespeare’s Globe theatre (“to bean, or not to bean”), and Toblerone (grateful for Swiss neutrality).
Of course, the campaign served a greater purpose than making people laugh amid all the doomscrolling on their phones.
Weetabix’s social media team cleverly ticked numerous B2C digital marketing boxes in the process. They enhanced awareness through likes and comments; drove traffic to the main account; encouraged a multi-brand conversation; controlled the narrative; generated free news coverage; and demonstrated that traditional products can be fun.
I say ‘bravo’ to the effort - but I’ll be sticking to milk with my Weetabix for now.
Thanks for reading - and please let me know if there’s anything different you’d like to see from this newsletter. Till next time x