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Myanmar After 4 Years of Military Coup

Relentless gun fighting between the ruling military junta and ethnic armed groups supported by a large section of common Burmese nationals with arms on their hands has made the situation more complicated.

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Nava Thakuria

Nava Thakuria

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The international community, so does the global media, may overlook the ongoing civil war like situation in Myanmar (also known as Burma and Brahmadesh), but the ground situation indicates a an everlasting chaos in the southeast Asian nation where thousands have been killed, another few thousands injured and millions of people including women and children rendered homeless because of the conflict that erupted after the military coup four years back. Relentless gun fighting between the ruling military junta and ethnic armed groups supported by a large section of common Burmese nationals with arms on their hands has made the situation more complicated. Lately the junta forces led by Min Aung Hlaing start losing their influence over the country and currently less than  50% territorial areas remain under their direct control. 

Latest reports reveal that the junta now controls only 32% of Myanmar townships, where 24% slips into full conflict zones and  44% have gone under the control of revolutionary forces, ethnic resistance organizations and people’s defense forces. Till date, the Buddhist majority nation has witnessed the killing of over 6000 civilians, mostly by the junta soldiers. No less than  27,000 people were arrested and nearly 21,000 still remain under military custody. The continuous airstrikes by junta forces on populated areas, setting many villages and urban localities on fire across the country of 55 million people became  the order of the day. More than 3.2  million people have already displaced and they are presently facing acute food, medical and other logistic crises. In many relief camps, essential commodities have been prevented or restricted from transporting and distributing among the affected families by the military authorities.

Mentionable is that the revolutionary forces under the banner of ‘Three Brotherhood Alliance’, comprising the Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army  and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army had launched a massive offensive (titled Operation 1027) in late 2023. Till date, the ethnic groups and resistance forces have gained full control over 144 townships, leaving only 107 townships under the junta’s authority, where  79 townships are still facing offensives from the anti-junta forces. According to a Burmese source in Yangon, the junta has lost 173 military battalion headquarters including two regional military commands, six command headquarters and six strategic military bases as well as 742 frontline outposts to the revolutionary fighters. 
Moreover, the armed militias have brought under control the important routes connecting the border towns with Bangladesh, India,  Thailand and China. The AA fighters in particular  captured 15 out of 17 Arakanese townships in western Myanmar along with a large number of military bases including the junta’s strategic Western Command headquarters in Ann locality.  Following the intervention of China, the TNLA and MNDAA announced the ceasefire, but their fighters had already seized over 15 townships as well as several military bases (including Northeastern Command Headquarters in Lashio) in northern Shan State  and the Mandalay region.

Now the junta comes forward with the plan to conduct national elections by this year. The junta-controlled Union Election Commission even started preliminary preparations for the polls including a countrywide census. However, the electoral process in the land of Golden Pagodas remains doubtful since its independence in 1948. The powerful government armed forces often dictate the political leadership where the military-drafted 2008 Constitution made the situation more critical for the pro-democracy activists, as it has reserved 25 percent of Parliamentary seats for the military persons and their associates. The continued detention of pro-democracy crusader Daw Aung Suu Kyi, who is attaining 80 on 19 June next, for a total of 19 years simply made the situation clumsier.

A comparison study between the 1 February 2021 military coup and present day Myanmar reflects that the country was experiencing a kind of political stability and economic growth under a quasi- democratic government in Naypietaw, but now the whole country emerges as a battleground, where millions of civilians are suffering. The arbitrary military operations including over 3000 airstrikes on populated areas have resulted in the death of at least 6,224 people including 711 children and 1,387 women. The number of political prisoners has surged from 234 before the coup to 21,711 till last month. A huge number of elected representatives, pro-democracy activists, writer-journalists, artists and civilians have been imprisoned for opposing the military regime.

Myanmar also becomes a dangerous country for working journalists, many of whom are murdered, jailed and several independent media houses have been shut down with an immunity to the perpetrators. Since the coup, no less than seven journalists were killed and 200 others arrested by the junta, where 43 journalists remain under detention with 11 scribes serving long-term prison terms. Recently, the Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) came out with a statement that there may be more journalists under detention, which is yet to come to light. It added that the military dictators unjustly arrested media workers under the brutal laws like Unlawful Associations Act, Counter-Terrorism Law, Telecommunications Law, Explosive Substances Act, Natural Disaster Management Law, Immigration Act, etc. 

Appreciating the IPCM for documenting the media casualty and detentions under the current Burmese junta, the global media safety and rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) urged the military regime to release all detained media persons with no condition and delay. PEC records reveal that  since the last coup, the country lost journalists namely Ko Myat Thu Tun (Democratic Voice of Burma), Htet Myat Thu (Voice of Thanbyuzayat), Win Htut Oo (DVB), Pu Tui Dim (Khonumthung Media Group), Sai Win Aung (Federal News Journal), Aye Kyaw and Ko Soe Naing (both freelancers) to military tortures.  The PEC also added that a large number of media workers had already left Myanmar  to escape the junta’s increasing persecution.

Myanmar Press Emblem Campaign (PEC)