Myanmar Spring Chronicle – Scenes from May 25
(MoeMaKa), May 26, 2026
A Revolutionary Song, “Blood Oath,” Distorted: Another Front in the Propaganda War
The revolutionary song Thway Thitsar (“Blood Oath”), written by singer-songwriter Htoo Eain Thin shortly after the 1988 nationwide uprising, has reportedly been altered by the military regime into a military propaganda song titled Sitthar Thway Ni… Shay Toe Chi (“Soldiers’ Red Blood… March Forward”). The modified version was broadcast yesterday on military-owned television.
Htoo Eain Thin composed the song in late 1988 while living near the Thai border. Singer Munn Aung later recorded it in 1991 and released it in the music series Peace Struggle. Since then, Blood Oath became a symbolic song for anti-dictatorship movements. After the 2021 military coup, it was widely sung by protesters across cities and towns during demonstrations against military rule. Now, the junta has altered parts of the lyrics and repurposed it as a propaganda song for the military.
The producer behind the new song Soldiers’ Red Blood, March Forward is Ko Win Maw (Shwe Than Zin), a musician who himself participated in the 1988 democracy uprising. According to him, Blood Oath had originally borrowed melody and lyrical elements from an older Myanmar military song from the 1960s titled Soldiers’ Red Blood, March Forward, written by Zarni Sitthway.
By claiming that the original roots of Blood Oath came from a military propaganda song, the junta appears to be launching an ideological counteroffensive against revolutionary forces and their supporters. For many anti-dictatorship activists, seeing a treasured revolutionary anthem transformed into a military song by modifying its lyrics feels like an attack on the emotional and symbolic value of the original work.
Reports also indicate that around ten years ago, the USDP (Union Solidarity and Development Party) similarly attempted to alter Blood Oath into a propaganda song. Now, more than five years after the coup, the military has once again revived the effort in the form of another military anthem.
During World War II, many Burmese military marching songs adopted melodies from Japanese military music after Burmese forces trained in Japan and later formed the Burma Independence Army. In that historical context, Blood Oath emerged after the 1988 uprising as a song that inspired those resisting military dictatorship, despite sharing a martial musical style.
Many people view the military’s appropriation of a revolutionary song as unsurprising, arguing that the junta has long been accustomed to seizing or appropriating anything of value in the country.
From another perspective, however, the incident highlights how systematically and persistently the military regime conducts propaganda warfare and psychological operations.
The military’s Psychological Warfare and Public Relations Department (KaKaPyit) has been actively using media, music, propaganda broadcasts, disinformation, and psychological tactics to demoralize opposition forces and weaken public morale.
Beyond military-owned MRTV, Myawaddy TV, and Myawaddy newspapers, the junta has also established propaganda networks such as the Yadanabon newspaper in Mandalay. On social media platforms, it financially supports numerous pro-military channels and pages disguised as news outlets, using them to spread narratives favorable to the military among both supporters and the wider public.
Daily dissemination of military narratives occurs not only through state and military-controlled television and newspapers, but also through coordinated activity on Telegram, TikTok, VK, and other social media platforms, where content is cross-shared to maximize reach.
Although these pro-military lobbying channels may have little influence on committed supporters of the revolution, they can still exert a certain degree of influence on ordinary citizens and politically undecided audiences.
For that reason, revolutionary forces urgently need to continuously monitor and counter the military’s propaganda operations, misinformation campaigns, and manipulated narratives with timely responses and fact-based rebuttals.