CCTV cameras are tools of repression in post-coup Myanmar
From using GPS tracking of waste disposal to new digital payment systems to advanced CCTV technology in crime-heavy areas, Myanmar’s “smart cities” developments were an exercise in technocratic city management, in making cities safer, cleaner, more efficient and more livable.
Following a coup in February 2021, which overthrew the democratically elected government, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) took control of the country — including CCTV control centers.
According to a new report by Article 19 much of the CCTV infrastructure was already in place before the coup. The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi (imprisoned after the coup), installed CCTV equipment across the country, including facial recognition technology made by the controversial Chinese firm Huawei. Article 19 reports that police under the NLD used CCTV footage against activists in legal cases.
But now with an even more oppressive regime in charge, there are fewer limits on how the technology can be used. Many protesters, for instance, say CCTV footage is being used to track and arrest them. The report’s revelations underscore the double use of technologies essential to so-called smart cities. Who does this technology, including CCTV cameras, really protect: a society’s most vulnerable, or its most powerful?