What is Happening in Myanmar?
By Lucas Musetti
Disclaimer: This article has been divided into five parts for ease of publication on Nonviolence International New York’s main website. For more articles, visit nonviolenceny.org.
Part 1
If you have consumed American mainstream news regularly in the past few months, you may have heard stories about the military coup in Myanmar in between updates about the Coronavirus vaccine or politics or racial violence towards Asians and other people of color in America. If you consumed news from international media, you may have heard a bit more about the human cost of the coup and the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi, a prominent leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. However, many people still have no idea why this coup is so significant, how it relates to other recent violence in Myanmar, and many may not even be able to confidently point Myanmar out on a map. In fairness, some of these people likely would not have been able to identify Burma before 1989, which is when the military junta that ruled the country changed the name to Myanmar. (The United States government still officially uses the name Burma as of March 31, 2021) Incidentally, the military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc or SLORC), also imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi in 1989, much like the current military leaders have. We at Nonviolence International New York would like to deliver the average person a primer in the current conflict in Myanmar and explain its connection to the country’s past. Before we do so, we need to acknowledge that this primer will be delivered by an American author who is removed from the current events and whose exposure to the history of the conflict is filtered through mainly secondary sources.
A further disclaimer is that, while we try to be fair to our research and audience, we cannot be impartial on all issues. As the events discussed further in will deal with alleged acts of genocide, repression, and government-sponsored violence, we must at times point out that, while current events are based on historic precedence, that does not excuse affronts to human rights. Nevertheless, Myanmar is a diverse country with a complex history and is full of people working towards making a more democratic nation with respect for human rights. The news stories that focus on violence and repression, while bringing important attention to human suffering, do not paint a complete picture of the nation or its people. We have also included links at the end of this article to works from authors who are more closely tied to Burmese culture as their experiences are important to highlight when discussing this and other conflicts.
Contextualizing the Violence as a Response to Human Rights Advocacy
People living outside Myanmar, and particularly in the West, seem to hear about one major event, such as the 1983 bombing in Rangoon or the Saffron Revolution of 2007 or the massacre of Rohingya Muslims, and do not have sufficient context to know how or why these events occurred and/or how they are related. Unfortunately, this confusion and accidental ignorance leads to suboptimal reactions.
Condemnations from powerful organizations often come slowly and only focus on specific incidents, as was the case of a Security Council condemnation in 2007. Other times, swift reactions are generally toothless, such as the recent joint statement by Defense Secretaries from a dozen countries. The statement, in its entirety, reads: “As Chiefs of Defense, we condemn the use of lethal force against unarmed people by the Myanmar Armed Forces and associated security services. A professional military follows international standards for conduct and is responsible for protecting — not harming — the people it serves. We urge the Myanmar Armed Forces to cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions.”[1] Obviously, this statement is well intentioned but is unlikely to place any real pressure on the responsible parties. A worse potential outcome though, is born out of true ignorance. If people only consume headlines or brief news stories about subsequent atrocities in a country in conflict, biases can easily form. People who do not know any better might assume the worst of a country if they only hear worse and worse things. Instead of recognizing that there are many activists in Myanmar who fight for human rights and democracy, uninformed people might only associate Myanmar with repression and violence. Instead of hearing about the peaceful protests by Buddhist monks, people hear about oppressive genocide.
While the history presented in this article mainly focuses on the conflicts Myanmar has faced in an effort to contextualize how the current conflict ties into history, it is important that the reader does not lose sight of the fact that one reason why so many people are facing repression is because there are so many more people fighting for reform. The struggle for human rights occurs in every country and the scale varies with every instance. Many, though admittedly not all, of the instances of violence in this article result from those in power trying to repress the people fighting for human rights. While many of these events are tragic, there is still often an underpinning of hope in that none of the repressions in Myanmar’s past have kept its people from continuing to fight for their rights. Please bear this knowledge in mind as context for the following exploration of how Myanmar’s history relates to its current state.
Myanmar/Burma and Colonization
Myanmar is a country about the size of Texas or Ukraine and owes its surprisingly diverse population to a variety of factors, including its location in Southeast Asia on the Bay of Bengal and its history with colonialism. Kublai Khan’s Yuan Empire conquered Pagan in 1287, essentially ending the first Myanmar state and introducing Mongol culture from the north.[2] Nearly 250 years later, the Portuguese Empire aided the Toungoo dynasty in reuniting the country of Burma, which of course added some elements of Portuguese and other European cultural aspects to the region. Between 1824 and 1885, the British Empire fought three Anglo-Burmese Wars, which first led to the British East India Trading Company seizing lands to add to British India and eventually led to Burma becoming its own province in British India.[3] Eventually, the British Empire made Burma a separate crown colony in 1937, just five years before the Japanese Empire used the Burmese Independence Army, which Japan helped train, to occupy and annex Burma. [4] The Burmese Independence Army did resist Japanese occupation and in 1945 the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, which had evolved from the BIA, was led by Aung San and liberated Burma with the help of the British military.[5] Aung San was later assassinated by political rivals and his successor as head of the AFPFL became the first prime minister of the newly independent Burmese nation in 1947. [6]
The previous paragraph fast-forwarded through almost 700 years of imperial colonization and only provided brief highlights of the truly tumultuous history Myanmar had regarding international relations. The colonization of nearby nations, like French Indochina, which includes present-day Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, and British India, which included India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, also had a profound effect on the cultural diversity and subsequent military history of the region. As in any part of the world, when conflict occurs in neighboring states, a nation is generally impacted economically, socially, and culturally by the conflict itself and by the refugees that seek shelter from violence. A complete history of these wars and their effects on Burma or Myanmar would be too much to include here, but are certainly a factor in the events still to be explored. We at Nonviolence International New York would advise anyone studying humanitarian crises like the one in Myanmar today to remember the effects on wars, not only within a nation’s boundaries but also in the region it occupies, when trying to identify the root causes of suffering.
[1] “International Chiefs of Defense Condemn Use of Lethal Force in Burma.” U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. March 27, 2021. https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2552774/international-chiefs-of-defense-condemn-use-of-lethal-force-in-burma/.
[2]”Myanmar Profile — Timeline.” BBC News. September 03, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12992883.
[3] “Anglo-Burmese Wars.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/event/Anglo-Burmese-Wars.
[4] “Myanmar Profile-Timeline”
[5] Smith Smith Martin, Martin. “Burma and World War II.” Cultural Survival. December 01, 1989. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/burma-and-world-war-ii.
[6] “Myanmar Profile-Timeline”
Part 2
Modern History of Burma
In the 1950s, Burma’s prime minister, U Nu, became one of the leading figures in the Non-Aligned Movement, which was an important voting block in the UN in addition to being a remarkable case study of power balancing during the Cold War.[1] By the end of the 1950s though, U Nu and the AFPFL were experiencing a rather large rift in the party structure and a “caretaker government” led by the army chief of staff took power. In 1960, U Nu won a decisive electoral victory but that same chief of staff, General Ne Win, ousted his government two years later in a particularly repressive coup. [2] Shortly before this coup occurred, U Thant had become the UN Secretary General, and while he did not play a significant role in the events discussed here, he was a particularly influential Secretary General and it would not be fair to discuss the history of Burma and its leaders without mentioning the man who was probably the most significant Burmese statesman in history.
General Ne Win’s regime ruled by martial law for twelve years and had a difficult relationship with the elected prime minister U Nu. Briefly, U Nu was imprisoned in “protective custody” for four years, was released, wrote a report suggesting Ne Win return the parliament to power so they might name Ne Win as President, fled the country, allied with a former CIA operative to raise an opposition force, was defeated by Ne Win’s army, and eventually was offered amnesty and was allowed to return to Burma.[3] U Nu would later try to resist the Burmese government again, claiming he was the legitimate leader, but was again defeated, partly due to lack of support from other leaders like Aung San Suu Kyi, and was again imprisoned.[4] He was eventually released again in the early 1990s during another government transition but never took office again. [5]
In 1974, Ne Win’s military junta created a new constitution and handed over power to elected officials.[6] The constitution had made Burma a one-party political system, however, which meant that only members of Ne Win’s party held power and he continued as head of the People’s Assembly until 1981. In 1981, he relinquished his position to another general, San Yu, but continued serving as chairman for the Socialist Programme Party. [7] A year after the constitution went into effect, the National Democratic Front was formed by regional opposition groups who waged guerrilla insurgencies against the government for many years.
San Yu’s government was not any less repressive than Ne Win’s. In fact, this regime designated non-indigenous peoples as “associate citizens,” which barred them from certain aspects of public life like holding office. [8] This act was one of the many factors that eventually led to the (alleged) government-sanctioned acts of genocide against the Rohingya Muslims in recent years. Rohingya are not one of the legal ethnic groups of Myanmar, meaning that the government does not recognize them as their own citizens. The impact of this will be explored later in this article.
San Yu’s regime continued until 1988.[9] It was this year that U Nu’s second attempt to regain power reached its peak. A popular uprising against the government, partially fuelled by U Nu’s movement and partially by the actions of leaders of opposition groups like Aung San’s daughter Aung San Suu Kyi, came to a head on August 8 of that year. [10] That date, 8–8–88 gave rise to the common name of this movement, the 8888 Uprising. A student uprising occurred in one of Myanmar’s largest universities on August 8 and spread to other groups across the nation. A little over one month later, a group of military officers known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council put down the rebellions and overthrew the government in a violent coup. [11] SLORC is the group mentioned earlier that imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi and renamed Burma to Myanmar. SLORC also imprisoned U Nu for the second time.
[1] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline.” BBC News. September 03, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12992883.
[2] Pike, John. “1962 Military Coup in Burma.” Global Security. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/myanmar1.htm.
[3]”U Nu.” Encyclopædia Britannica. February 10, 2021. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/U-Nu.
[4]Prager-Nyein, Susanne. “Aung San Suu Kyi between Biographical Myth and Hard Realities.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 43, no. 3 (February 2013): 546–54. doi:10.1080/00472336.2013.771942.
[5] Pace, Eric. “U Nu, First Premier of Independent Burma and Democracy Advocate, Dies at 87.” New York Times, February 15, 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/15/obituaries/u-nu-first-premier-of-independent-burma-and-democracy-advocate-dies-at-87.html.
[6] “Myanmar Profile- Timeline”
[7] Ibid.
[8] Htike Nanda Win. “Citizens of Myanmar.” The Myanmar Times. September 22, 2017. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.mmtimes.com/news/citizens-myanmar.html-0.
[9] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline”
[10] Meixler, Eli. “How a Failed Democracy Uprising Set the Stage For Myanmar’s Future.” Time. August 08, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://time.com/5360637/myanmar-8888-uprising-30-anniversary-democracy/.
[11]”…formerly Known as SLORC.” The Economist. November 22, 1997. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.economist.com/asia/1997/11/20/formerly-known-as-slorc.
Part 3
Myanmar under SLORC and SPDC
In the first year of SLORC’s rule over Myanmar, the junta imprisoned thousands of people, many of whom had taken part in the 8888 Uprising or who were otherwise protesting for human rights and democracy.[1] Aung San Suu Kyi was the head of the opposition political party National League for Democracy, which won a massive and overwhelming victory in the 1990 general elections. [2] Because SLORC had taken over, the Socialist Programme Party was no longer the only organized party in the nation. However, the military junta elected to ignore the results of the election and Aung San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest until 1995.
During Suu Kyi’s imprisonment, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her continued efforts to fight for human rights.[3] Her sons, who are British citizens, accepted the award on her behalf. In 2008, the State Peace and Development Council, which was SLORC’s successor organization, drafted a constitution which forbade any citizen with foreign national immediate relatives from becoming president. [4] Because Suu Kyi was married to a British national and has two British sons, she is ineligible to hold that office unless the constitution is amended. Another clause in the constitution gives the military veto power over any attempts to change the constitution, making that amendment implausible. However, Suu Kyi and her followers would find a loophole to elevate her to leadership after the dissolution of the SPDC.
Under the SPDC, the military and police would continue to arrest members of Suu Kyi’s party and other opposition groups. Suu Kyi herself would be imprisoned and placed under house arrest several more times, eventually serving approximately 15 years in total. She would also hold several secret and semi-secret talks with the ruling council at different points in the regime, continuing to push for reforms with qualified successes.[5]
In 1997, SLORC officially changed its name to the State Peace and Development Council and was admitted into ASEAN, a powerful regional body of nations, which was a huge boost in international legitimacy.[6] A few years later, in 2001, the Burmese Army and rebels clashed near the Thai border. As Thailand is another member of ASEAN, this incident threatened to derail their cooperation but the Thai government signaled a few months later that their relations were normalizing. That same year, China signaled their support for the Burmese government, which was another boon to the SPDC.
2003 and 2004 were pivotal years in Myanmar’s political evolution. Many political prisoners and protesters were freed in those years, including Min Ko Naing, who was a student leader in the 8888 Uprising.[7] The prime minister also signaled that he would convene a constitutional convention as Myanmar had been without one since 1988. Unfortunately, the NDL boycotted the convention as Suu Kyi was again under house arrest and the convention failed to produce a constitution for ratification. By the end of 2004, the prime minister had been ousted in a power struggle and was placed under house arrest.
Even while Myanmar was attempting some political reforms and was gathering international support in the region, many armed groups continued to resist the government. One of the most significant groups was, and in fact remains, the Karen National Liberation Army. The Karen people are an ethnic minority group in Myanmar and the KNLA has been fighting for the group’s autonomy since 1949.[8] Some attempts had been made to make peace, such as the 2004 ceasefire agreement, but nothing has lasted and the KNLA continues to resist government control as does the political party associated with them, the Karen National Union. Another major group, the United Wa State Army, was formed in 1989 and fought SLORC and the SPDC for the entirety of the regime.[9] The United Wa State Army remains active today and has a unique working relationship with the government as, while the UWSA claims to be independent from Myanmar, they have coordinated military responses against Shan rebels in the past. The Shan are the largest ethnic minority group in Myanmar, though they also live in other Southeast Asian nations.[10] There have been several Shan armed groups that have resisted the Burmese government, though the most significant one in recent years seems to be the still-active Shan State Army- South (SSA-S).[11] There are other armed groups that have fought against the Burmese government that have not been organized based solely on ethnicity, including several communist rebel groups throughout the nation’s history. The presence of so many armed groups perhaps explains why it is difficult for people who have not studied the country in depth to follow the chain of events that leads from one incident to another.
In 2007, the UN Security Council was blocked by Russian and Chinese vetoes from issuing a condemnation of Myanmar’s repression of minority groups but a separate condemnation of attacks on peaceful protestors succeeded later that year.[12] The International Committee of the Red Cross released a public condemnation of Myanmar’s human rights record the same year. 2007 also saw a popular uprising against the government due to its handling of the economy and fluctuating gas prices.[13] This protest was led largely by Buddhist monks who also called for Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest. The protest movement was called the Saffron Revolution due to the color of the monks’ robes.
2008 led to even more instability. Frequent bombings occured early in the year and a cyclone in May led to massive displacement and a humanitarian crisis.[14] Further, the government finally introduced a new constitution, which included the previously discussed clause that barred Suu Kyi from presidential office. The military was also granted 25% of the seats in parliament with this constitution and was given the veto power over any amendments to the constitution, solidifying their hold on power. Another power-centralizing move by the government was to reject foreign aid in the aftermath of the cyclone, which only exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. A series of political trials ended the year, with some political protesters receiving 65-year sentences.
In the final years of the SPDC’s reign, Suu Kyi had varying success in dealing with the government. Her house arrest was extended due to her allowing a trespassing American to rest at her compound, though she reported the incident the next day, but she was able to meet with government leaders and foreign dignitaries including Hillary Clinton.[15] The NLD initially offered to participate in upcoming elections if conditions were met, including freeing political prisoners, changing the constitution, and inviting international observers, but ultimately decided to protest the elections by not participating. A breakaway faction known as the National Democratic Front became a splinter group and stood for election instead. The military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, won the 2010 elections, though many opponents claimed fraud, and the presidential candidate, Thein Sein took office. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest shortly after the elections and Thein Sein dissolved the SPDC in March 2011. The government was now, at least in name, civilian-controlled for the first time since 1962.
[1] Meixler, Eli. “How a Failed Democracy Uprising Set the Stage For Myanmar’s Future.” Time. August 08, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021.
[2] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline.” BBC News. September 03, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12992883.
[3]”Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar Democracy Icon Who Fell from Grace.” BBC News. March 05, 2021. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977.
[4] Banyan. “What Is Wrong with Myanmar’s Constitution?” The Economist. March 4, 2014. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2014/03/04/what-is-wrong-with-myanmars-constitution.
[5] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline.” BBC News. September 03, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12992883.
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid
[8]”Myanmar’s Ethnic Armed Groups, and Why the Crisis Could Worsen.” South China Morning Post. March 31, 2021. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3127646/myanmars-ethnic-armed-groups-and-why-their-threats-against.
[9] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline”
[10] “Myanmar’s Ethnic Armed Groups”
[11] Ibid.
[12] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline”
[13] Freeman, Joe. “The Saffron Revolution and The ‘Good Monk’ Myth.” The Atlantic. September 29, 2017. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/saffron-revolution-good-monk-myth/541116/.
[14] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline”
[15] “Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar Democracy Icon Who Fell from Grace”
Part 4
The Last Decade
Despite being from the military-backed party, Thein Sein, actually seems to have made some moves that liberalized Myanmar and moved away from some repressive policies. For instance, the 2012 elections were considered to be more free than the 2010 elections and Suu Kyi actually was appointed to a cabinet-level position.[1] Furthermore, the government signed peace treaties or ceasefires with Shan, Kachin, and Karen ethnic groups in 2011 and 2012.[2] The president also established a commission to investigate violence in the Rakhine State between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, a problem that escalated steadily in the next few years. Freedom of the press also seems to have benefitted during this time as new newspapers were founded for the first time in 50 years.
Despite these overtures however, Thein Sein’s regime also had failings. The peace with Kachin rebels did not last and China had to offer to be a mediator before violence escalated further.[3] The Kokang ethnic group in Shan State also staged a large uprising around this time and Thein Sein placed the region under martial law. The Rohingya minority continued to suffer violence in the Rakhine State even after President Obama publicly urged reconciliation on an official visit to the country.[4] The government would actually strip the Rohingya of their voting rights before a constitutional referendum in 2015.[5] By May 2015, hundreds of Rohingya took to the sea in makeshift or otherwise insufficient watercraft in an attempt to flee violence in the Rakhine State.[6]
In November 2015, Suu Kyi’s NLD won a sweeping victory and was able to form its own government.[7] Though Suu Kyi is barred from becoming president, her party was able to pass a law that granted her the title of State Counsellor and gave her powers akin to that of a prime minister. She had officially become the civilian leader of Myanmar.
As a Nobel Peace Laureate, many Westerners expected Aung San Suu Kyi to be a champion for human rights, and while her government did make some reforms the eyes of the world had turned toward the Rohingya crisis. Suu Kyi became State Counsellor in April 2016 and not even a year later, the United Nations Human Rights Council had decided to investigate violence against the Rohingya Muslims specifically from the Burmese military, the Tatmadaw.[8] By October 2017, it is estimated that over one million Rohingya Muslims had fled to Bangladesh to escape the military’s crackdown, which some said amounted to ethnic cleansing. A 2018 report from the UN would go further, claiming that the Tatmadaw and Myanmar by extension had committed genocide and other war crimes against the Rohingya Muslims.[9] The Burmese government, including Suu Kyi, rejected these claims.[10] Suu Kyi even once asked the American ambassador to Myanmar not to refer to the ethnic group as Rohingya since the government did not recognize them as a specific ethnic group. This, of course, is due to the act passed under San Yu decades earlier which characterized non-indigenous groups as “associate citizens.”
The report had also recommended sending six Tatmadaw generals to the International Criminal Court but that was never brought to a vote. China has veto power over such decisions and Chinese-Myanmar relations have grown significantly since China recognized the SPDC in 2001.
Perhaps the most shocking scene of Suu Kyi’s term was when she chose to travel to the Hague to defend the Tatmadaw, the very people who had imprisoned her for years, in front of the International Court of Justice in 2019.[11] This may not have been too shocking for the people following the news reports coming from the few journalists who coil get close enough to the horrors in the Rakhine State. The government had been trying to stifle foreign press for years, but some stories still managed to get out. Perhaps one of the most significant incidents involving the foreign press was that of Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone. According to a police captain, he had been ordered to entrap the two journalists in order to arrest them under the Official Secrets Act.[12] The journalists had published stories and photos of brutal crimes perpetrated by the Tatmadaw against Rohingya Muslims. Because of the entrapment, both journalists were convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail, but Myanmar’s president, Win Myint, eventually caved to international pressure and granted them amnesty after more than 500 days in prison.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party once again won a landslide election in 2020 despite concern over Suu Kyi’s handling of the economy and Covid-19.[13] Unfortunately for Suu Kyi, her party, her followers, and many many people in Myanmar, the military-backed party, USDP, declared the election to be illegitimate.[14] On this pretext, military leaders initiated a coup on February 1, 2021.
[1]”Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar Democracy Icon Who Fell from Grace.” BBC News. March 05, 2021. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11685977.
[2] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline.” BBC News. September 03, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12992883.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Kurlantzick, Joshua. “Obama’s Visit to Myanmar: A Mixed Result.” Council on Foreign Relations. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.cfr.org/blog/obamas-visit-myanmar-mixed-result.
[5] “Myanmar’s Rohingya Stripped of Right to Vote in Referendum.” Deutche Welle. February 12, 2015. Accessed April 08, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/myanmars-rohingya-stripped-of-right-to-vote-in-referendum/a-18252315.
[6] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline”
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Darusman, Marzuki. “Myanmar: UN Fact-Finding Mission Releases Its Full Account of Massive Violations by Military in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States.” OHCHR. September 18, 2018. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23575&LangID=E
[10] “Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar Democracy Icon Who Fell from Grace”
[11] Simons, Marlise, and Hannah Beech. “Aung San Suu Kyi Defends Myanmar Against Rohingya Genocide Accusations.” December 11, 2019. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/world/asia/aung-san-suu-kyi-rohingya-myanmar-genocide-hague.html.
[12] “Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo: Reuters Journalists Freed in Myanmar.” BBC News. May 07, 2019. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48182712.
[13] “Myanmar Profile — Timeline”
[14] Goodman, Jack. “Myanmar Coup: Does the Army Have Evidence of Voter Fraud?” BBC News. February 05, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/55918746.
Part 5
Present Day
Myanmar’s military coup began in the early morning of February 1, 2021. On February 2, the Parliament was scheduled to be seated for the first time since the 2020 elections.[1] That would have been the first day of the new government, with President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi beginning another term. The 2020 elections saw Suu Kyi’s party, NLD, win 83% of the seats in Parliament. The main opposition party, USDP, cried foul. USDP, which is backed by a majority of military leaders, claimed that there was widespread voter fraud. However, a coalition of 12 independent election observers noted during the election that the election seemed largely fair. A few allegations were made by Human Rights Watch about the fairness of the campaign cycle, including that state-sponsored media tended to favor the NLD and there was censoring of opposition messages.[2] Other observers noted that there had been encouraging reforms made to increase the voting rolls even during the pandemic.[3] However, some ethnic groups, including the Rohingya were restricted from voting at all.[4] In all, it seemed that Myanmar had a lot of progress to make towards fully free and transparent elections, but the will of the majority seemed to have prevailed. Suu Kyi would lead the nation, not Than Htay, head of the USDP.
In fact, it seems neither will lead the nation. Suu Kyi was arrested along with most NLD leaders, including the sitting President. The Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s armed forces, instead declared that there would be a one-year state of emergency, which would end following new elections.[5] The Tatmadaw operates independently of Myanmar’s civilian government. During the state of emergency, the commander himself, Min Aung Hlaing, would be the de facto head of the Myanmar government.
Since her arrest, Suu Kyi has been held in an unknown location, though she has had access to a legal team who have said as recently as March 30 that she seemed to be in good health.[6] The remaining NLD leaders who managed to escape arrest are in hiding but have urged resistance against the military takeover. The response from the public has been the largest mass protest since the 2007 Saffron Revolution and includes members from all sectors of public life.[7] The Tatmadaw and police have responded by using lethal and less-than-lethal force to try to disperse crowds. While an exact figure of the dead and wounded is difficult to determine when the government has a vested interest in downplaying those figures, Myanmar and international media have published varying numbers of dead and wounded that all number in the hundreds so far.[8][9]
A popular trend in Internet searches right now suggests that people are asking if the UN can solve the crisis. Unfortunately, this seems unlikely. China has already vetoed a Security Council condemnation of the coup but has independently called for Suu Kyi’s release.[10] China has stated before that they oppose military intervention in Myanmar, so any kind of UN authorization of military force or peacekeeping is nearly impossible. Condemnations from aid organizations and world leaders have drawn attention to the crisis and the US and UK reinstated military sanctions on Myanmar.[11] However, since Myanmar still has regional allies who will likely continue to assist the nation regardless of who is in charge of the government, it is unclear how effective such sanctions will be. In short, it seems that the UN cannot change the impact of the coup through direct intervention and until other diplomatic measures are employed, Myanmar’s protesters will continue facing reprisals from the Tatmadaw and police.
Reports from Myanmar or Burmese Reporters
https://whbl.com/2021/03/25/more-than-300-people-killed-since-myanmars-coup/
Written by Wa Lone and Aditi Bhandari for the Associated Press
Published by Myanmar Now, an independent Myanmar source
https://www.mmtimes.com/news/tatmadaw-orders-legislators-leave-parliament-guest-house.html
By Myat Thura, Myanmar Times (Myanmar Times suspended operations February 21, 2021)
[1] Head, Jonathan. “Myanmar Coup: Aung San Suu Kyi Detained as Military Seizes Control.” BBC News. February 05, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55882489.
[2] “Myanmar: Election Fundamentally Flawed.” Human Rights Watch. October 28, 2020. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/05/myanmar-election-fundamentally-flawed#.
[3] Anfrel. “ANFREL IEOM to the 2020 Myanmar General Elections Interim Report: Asian Network for Free Elections.” Asian Network for Free Elections |. December 08, 2020. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://anfrel.org/anfrel-ieom-to-the-2020-myanmar-general-elections-interim-report/.
[4] Ibid.
[5]Head, Jonathan
[6] “Myanmar’s Suu Kyi ‘healthy’, Lawyer Says, as U.S. Orders Non-essential Staff to Leave.” Reuters. March 31, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-idUSKBN2BN0BB.
[7]”Myanmar Coup: Tens of Thousands Join Largest Protests since 2007.” BBC News. February 07, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55967959.
[8] “Myanmar: At Least 550 Civilians Killed since Coup: DW: 03.04.2021.” Deutsche Welle. April 3, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.dw.com/en/myanmar-at-least-550-civilians-killed-since-coup/a-57093490.
[9] Ward, Clarissa, Sandi Sidhu, Brent Swails, Sott McWhinnie, and Salai TZ. “Myanmar Military Denies Responsibility for Child Deaths and Says Elections Could Be Pushed Back.” CNN. April 08, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/08/asia/myanmar-zaw-min-tun-interview-intl-hnk/index.html.
[10] “Myanmar Coup: China Blocks UN Condemnation as Protest Grows.” BBC News. February 03, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55913947.
[11] McDonald, Tim. “US and UK Ratchet up Sanctions on Myanmar’s Military.” BBC News. April 08, 2021. Accessed April 09, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56248559.
