Myanmar’s military has been able to suppress dissent in the past. Will it succeed again?
Under the country’s authoritarian regimes from 1962 to 2010, harsh tactics such as imprisonment, torture and mass killings were used to silence citizens. Feb 08, 2021 · 11:30 pm Protesters take part in a demonstration against the Myanmar military coup outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok. | Jack Taylor / AFP
Myanmar has once again returned to military rule, with a year-long state of emergency declared by the army.
When military dictators ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 2010, they were able to maintain tight control over the people through the country’s extensive intelligence apparatus and harsh tactics such as imprisonment, torture and mass killings. As a result, Myanmar’s people lived in virtual silence for decades.
Myanmar has once again returned to military rule, with a year-long state of emergency declared by the army.
When military dictators ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 2010, they were able to maintain tight control over the people through the country’s extensive intelligence apparatus and harsh tactics such as imprisonment, torture and mass killings. As a result, Myanmar’s people lived in virtual silence for decades.
After a decade-long political transition that brought Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) to power, Myanmar is now a changed place. What used to be a pariah state is increasingly connected to the world. Civil society has begun to be established and public awareness about freedom, democracy, human rights and development has increased drastically.
Tuesday, 12 January 2021, 4:41 pm
Myanmar
authorities should immediately release and end criminal
proceedings against dozens of student activists facing
criminal charges for their involvement in peaceful protest
activities, Fortify Rights said today. Today, Aung Myay
Thar-Zan Township Court is scheduled to consider criminal
complaints against student leader Phone Myint Kyaw, whom
police arrested last week.
Phone Myint Kyaw is the
21st student activist arrested since September 2020 as part
of a months-long
crackdown on peaceful anti-war protesters. Police filed
criminal complaints against at least 32 students for their
participation in a campaign to protest the ongoing war
between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army an ethnic
Rights campaigner jailed for peaceful protest
A leading women’s activist has been jailed after leading a peaceful protest against copper mine project, sparking outrage from human rights groups, including Burma Campaign UK.
Naw Ohn Hla, a former political prisoner and leading member of the Democracy and Peace Women Network, was arrested on August 13th after staging an unauthorized protest against a government backed copper mine project in Letpadaung, Burma. For her peaceful protest, Naw Ohn Hla has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Naw Ohn Hla was charged under Article 18(b) of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law and section 505(b) of the penal code for committing or inducing others to commit an offense against the State or against the ‘public tranquility’. Her trial continues for a remaining charge.