
The streets of Myanmar’s towns and cities were mostly quiet and dry on Thursday, as the annual Thingyan water festival began amid mourning over the killing of more than 100 civilians by a junta airstrike earlier in the week.
Normally the most festive event of the Burmese calendar, Thingyan has for the past three years been a subdued affair. Hit first by the Covid-19 pandemic, it has since fallen victim to the country’s politics, as a coup two years ago has deprived most of any desire to celebrate.
That sentiment is especially strong this year, after news of a particularly horrific attack on a remote village in Sagaing Region’s Kanbalu Township on Tuesday left many in the country, and the world, stunned.
The regime’s aerial assault on the village of Pa Zi Gyi, where some 160 people had gathered to celebrate the opening of a new resistance administration office, killed almost everyone in attendance, including dozens of children.
It was the worst mass killing committed by the junta since it seized power two years ago.
Scenes of the carnage have circulated widely online, shocking a nation that has almost grown accustomed to such outrages and leaving few in the mood for festivities.
“If something like the incident in Kanbalu had happened in our family, we couldn’t even think of going out and enjoying ourselves,” said one 28-year-old Yangon resident.
“There is still no peace in this country, and we have not yet been liberated from the military junta, so we just have to continue to resist,” she added.

A day after the attack, a group called the Yangon Revolution Force hung a banner on a footbridge in the city asking, “Why are you dancing when a whole village is burning?” as a reminder of the junta’s latest atrocity.
According to the group, the message was aimed at those who “understand the current situation but want to join festivals staged by the military anyway.”
“Until we reach the victory that the people wish for, we ask that the general public hold celebrations quietly, if at all,” out of respect for those killed by the regime, said the group’s statement about the banner.
In an effort to signal a return to normal under its rule, the junta has built Thingyan party pavilions in many townships across the country, hoping to entice crowds of young people eager to have a good time.

Few, however, attract anyone who is not directly connected to the regime. Images on social media show sparse attendance, and sources on the ground say that at some events, soldiers can be seen providing security.
The need for such precautions was apparent in the northern Shan State town of Lashio, where an explosion at one pavilion killed four and injured six at around noon on Thursday.
Few details of the incident were available at the time of reporting, but sources said the blast was powerful enough to make the bodies of the victims—all of whom were men—unrecognisable.
With so much death surrounding Thingyan this year, the holiday itself is dead, according to one Yangon resident who spoke to Myanmar Now.
The essence of Thingyan is being able to celebrate freely with friends and strangers alike, and that is no longer possible, said the 23-year-old aspiring filmmaker.
“There are no celebrations like that anymore. Most of us don’t even feel like having fun. This is not the time to have fun,” he added.