---
title: Defend Your Rights (Burmese-language poster distributed in Burma)
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/defend-your-rights-burmese-1953/
description: A Burmese-language poster showing a large tree on blue ground, its leaves each carrying a line of Burmese text beginning with the word for 'free'.
section: Collection
---

1. [Home](https://propagandaarchive.org/)
2. [Collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/)
3. Defend Your Rights (Burmese-language poster distributed in Burma)

[![Defend Your Rights, 1953 US poster: A Burmese-language poster showing a large tree on blue ground, its leaves each carrying](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/defend-your-rights-burmese-1953.jpg)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/defend-your-rights-burmese-1953.jpg)

# Defend Your Rights (Burmese-language poster distributed in Burma)

A Burmese-language poster showing a large tree on blue ground, its leaves each carrying a line of Burmese text beginning with the word for 'free', and a label at the roots. A headline above addresses the reader about their rights, and a line below warns against breaking the branches that shelter them. The tell is glittering-generalities: freedoms are presented as leaves of a tree rooted in democracy.

## Propaganda techniques used in this poster

[Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/)

## Text on the object

Original (Burmese) · read from the image, not independently checked

```
သင်၏ကျွန်အခွင့်အရေးများကို ကာကွယ်လော!

[eight leaves, each a line beginning လွတ်လပ် (free...); individual leaf text - [illegible] at scan resolution]

[root label] ဒီမိုကရေစီ

သင့်အားအရိပ်ပေးနေသည့် အခက်များကိုမချိုးလေနှင့်
```

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

```
Defend your rights!

[eight leaves, each beginning 'free...'; not translated]

[root label] Democracy

Do not break the branches that give you shade.
```

Best reading of Burmese script; leaf text is left unrendered rather than guessed.

[← I'm warning you, brother... it's sour! (untitled)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/berryman-capital-transit-warning-its-sour-1953/) [Darkness at Noon handbill, Civic Theatre, Inc. (English-language handbill distributed in Manila) →](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/darkness-at-noon-handbill-civic-theatre-manila-1953/)

## More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

- [Gypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/nimrud-slab-ashurnasirpal-ii-inscription-883bce/) (Neo Assyrian Empire · 0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Colour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/lithograph-res-gestae-ancyra-heading-0014/) (Roman Empire · 0014 · Card stacking, Glittering generalities)
- [Bronze sestertius of Trajan, reverse S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C, the emperor on horseback riding down an enemy](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/sestertius-trajan-optimo-principi-0103/) (Roman Empire · 0103 · Testimonial, Glittering generalities)
- [Gold solidus of Constantine I, reverse RESTITVTORI LIBERTATIS](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/solidus-constantine-i-restitutori-libertatis-0313/) (Roman Empire · 0313 · Glittering generalities)
- [Gold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staff](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/solidus-justinian-i-victoria-avggg-0538/) (Byzantine Empire · 0538 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panel](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/armada-portrait-elizabeth-i-greenwich-1588/) (England · 1588 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Medal of Elizabeth I: portrait in a ruff, reverse an ark on stormy waves with SAEVAS TRANQVILLA PER VNDAS (18th-century aftercast of a 1588 model)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/elizabeth-i-ark-medal-aftercast-1588/) (England · 1588 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
- [Frontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/eikon-basilike-frontispiece-hollar-1649/) (Dutch Republic · 1649 · Transfer, Glittering generalities)
