Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: Echoes of the Past, Crises of the Moment, Visions of the Future

JUST SECURITY
by Emily Ray and Tyler Giannini
April 26, 2021

Editor’s Note: This article introduces a Just Security series on the Feb. 1, 2021 coup in Myanmar. The series will bring together local and expert voices on the coup and its broader context. The series is a collaboration between Just Security and the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School).

On Feb. 1, 2021, the Myanmar military – the Tatmadaw – shattered the all too brief effort to transition to democracy in Myanmar. Over the past two and a half months, the Tatmadaw has continued its illegitimate effort to undermine the democratic elections from last year and prevent the elected government from taking power. In the face of mass popular opposition and international condemnation, the military has only escalated its use of violence against its own population – systematically stripping away rights and violently attacking protestors and dissidents, reportedly killing over 700 civilians as of Apr. 20, 2021, and detaining more than 3,000.

ၿမန္မာႏိုငံတြင္းရွိမြတ္စလင္ဆန္ ႔က်င္ေရးအၾကမ္းဖက္မႈပံုစံမ်ား ( ၂၀၁၂ )

 

Myanmar Fast Facts

abc 17 News

By CNN Newsource
Published April 15, 2021

Here’s a look at Myanmar, a country in southeast Asia formerly known as Burma.

About Myanmar

(from the CIA World Factbook)

Area: 676,578 sq km (slightly smaller than Texas)

Population: 57,069,099 (July 2021 est.)

Median age: 29.2 years

Capital: Naypyidaw

Ethnic Groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%

Religion: Buddhist 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, Other 0.2%, None 0.1% (2014 est.)

Unemployment: 4% (2017 est.)

Timeline of Recent Events in Myanmar

VOA

VOA News
01 February 2021

A vehicle with Myanmar and military flags and supporters of the Myanmar military and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party passes by a row of police trucks with police security onboard parked near the Kyauktada police station in…

Here is a timeline of some key events in Myanmar's recent turbulent history:

November 2015: The National League for Democracy (NLD) wins a general election by a landslide and Aung San Suu Kyi assumes power in a specially created role of state counselor.

Timeline: Myanmar's Troubled Recent Past, Ahead of November 8 Polls

The WIRE
Poppy McPherson
30/Oct/2020 

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi casts an advance vote ahead of November 8th general election in Naypyitaw, Myanmar October 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Thar Byaw 

Yangon: Myanmar goes to the polls on November 8, 2020, in its second general election since the end of full military rule in 2011.

Here is a timeline of some key events in the nation’s recent rocky history:

Timeline: Three years on, a look at the Rohingya crisis

REUTERS
August 21, 2020

(Reuters) - This month marks the third anniversary of the fleeing of more than 730,000 Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in response to an attack by Muslim militants on Myanmar security posts.

FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees carry supplies at Kutupalong refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, November 20, 2017. REUTERS/Susana Vera/File Photo

Here is a timeline of events in the crisis:

Aug. 25, 2017 - Muslim insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attack 30 police posts and an army base in the north of Rakhine State.