How will democracy be defined after Myanmar’s military coup?

New Statesment
FRANCIS WADE

16 FEBRUARY 2021

The democratic inclusivity of the country’s anti-coup protests mark a departure from its recent past.

Protests in Myanmar are now entering their third week AUNG KYAW HTET/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES,

Myanmar’s anti-coup protests, now in their third week, have gone country-wide. Triggered by the military’s putsch of the civilian government on 1 February, the demonstrations have spread from central cities to remote towns. Despite threats of police violence, crowds have continued to grow, drawing in myriad ethnic and religious communities and divergent political groupings. In a nation riven by deep social divides, where only three years ago many were championing the military’s cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, the coup has produced something wholly unexpected: a show of democratic inclusivity by a populace that, over the past decade, has shown a pointed hostility towards that principle.

Myanmar's Military Coup: How We Got Here

npr

Heard on Morning Edition
JULIE MCCARTHY
February 15, 2021

Myanmar is slipping deeper into danger as the newly installed military junta asserts control. But police raids against opposition figures and critics have done little to deter ongoing protests.

Transcript:

NOEL KING, HOST:

Myanmar's military says the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, will remain in custody for another two days. The military staged a coup on February 1, and people have been protesting it. But the big questions right now are why did the coup happen when it did, and what happens next? Here's NPR's Julie McCarthy.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: By the hundreds of thousands, citizens armed only with indignation march daily against the military takeover.

What lies ahead for the Rohingya repatriation process after Myanmar’s military coup?

moderndiplomacy

Sourav Ghosh
February 12, 2021

A young Rohingya girl holds her brother outside a youth club in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. © UNHCR/Vincent Tremeau

With much hope and greater expectations, Myanmar resumed its democratic journey in 2011, ending more than half a century of military rule. However, within just a decade, the military has once again overthrown a democratically-elected government and seized power marking the end of democratic normalcy. Myanmar’s military coup happened on February 1, 2021, the same day when the parliament was scheduled to reconvene following the general election that took place in November last year. In the election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party scored a landslide victory in both the houses of the Parliament. The coup took place just as Suu Kyi’s party, the League for National Democracy, was prepping up to form a new government. Finally, since Myanmar is engaged in trilateral talks with Bangladesh and China on the Rohingya repatriation issue, the military coup raises the question on what does the future hold for Rohingya repatriation process now?