Chaos in Myanmar continues amidst cries for democracy

     The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) staged a coup following Myanmar’s general election in Nov. of 2020.

     Majority of the Assembly of the Union was won by the National League for Democracy (NLD), but the military-backed USDP refused to yield their power, claiming election fraud without evidence, and arrested several democratically elected officials including newly elected President Win Myint and general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi, both of the NLD.

    Home to 54 million people spreading over 100 different ethnic groups, the Southeast Asian country is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, and Thailand. In 1949, just one year after the country gained independence from Britain, civil war broke out.

     Conflict was fueled by religious differences, territory disputes, and the increasingly fragile state of the nation’s government. The nation’s military decided that enough was enough and they were the only thing that could keep the country from falling apart.

      General Ne Win staged a coup in 1962 and brought a mix of Buddhist and Marxist ideologies that effectively eradicated democracy in Myanmar. As protests from citizens increased over 20 years, Suu Kyi would help create a party for the people and formally establish the NLD in 1988.

Before the country’s first democratic elections since gaining independence, Suu Kyi was detained for her promotion of democracy and floated in and out of house arrest for nearly 15 years. 

     Within the country’s long-lasting civil war, conflict between the reigning military and the NLD arose. Eventually, the nation’s government promised democratic elections in 1990. The NLD won the election by a landslide. 

     According to “Elections in Asia and the Pacific: a data handbook,” 392 out of the 492 seats went to the NLD, but the current leaders refused to transfer power. There would be no more elections until 2010, when the international community decided to encourage Myanmar to take steps towards democracy. 

      In May of 2010, the NLD was declared illegal by the ruling military junta, since they had refused to register for the upcoming elections. 

     The first general election in 20 years was held that same year with the USDP awarded a sweeping victory. Suu Kyi was released from detention a week later. The NLD was reinstated after they registered for the upcoming 2012 elections in 2011. 

     Life in Myanmar continued as it had, the civil war soldiered on, and power was withheld from the people. An elderly Buddhist man told the Washington Post in 2015, “We are helpless without arms; we’re just like slaves right now. People hate this government.”

     In response to recent protests that started in February, a curfew is in effect from 8:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. for all citizens, and, according to videos taken by Myanmar citizens and posted to Twitter, military and police officers patrol the streets, arresting those who break the curfew. Internet and service in and out of the country is severely restricted, and many citizens fear the consequences of speaking out. 

    In a similar vein to the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S., protestors in Myanmar are being hit with tear gas, rubber bullets, live ammunition, and arrests and beatings from the police. According to National Geographic, 224 citizens have been killed in the protests and over 2,000 have been detained. 

     An activist told National Geographic, “I’m still hopeful we will win. If we don’t, then it’s over. Our future is gone.”

Protestors and advocates from Myanmar are encouraging those outside the country to speak out and take action. Resources and ways to help can be found online including on the  Doctors without Borders website with an FAQ about the Myanmar crisis and how you can help.

     As of now, the military still has control of the country, and many democratically elected officials are still under arrest. 

     No representatives for the USDP have released any statements about the growing violence, and no official statement from government leaders has come out.