Written by Austin Maloney
In Myanmar, there’s a harsh civil war going on. What’s going on and why is this happening?
On the other side of the world, in a small country nestled in Southeast Asia, lies the country of Myanmar. But within its population of 54.52 million people, there’s a conflict going on and most people don’t even know about it. Ever since their government was taken over by the military in 2020, the people of Myanmar have been dragged into a long and harsh war between insurgents and the military.
The Backstory
Military control has had somewhat of a history in Myanmar. Originally called “Burma”, the British were the first to be of political power, as they annexed Burma, putting it under colonized rule from 1825 up until allowing them to become an independent nation in 1948. This lasted for only 14 years before the military overthrew them during the 1962 Burmese coup d'état, starting their military rule which lasted until 2011 when the military rule dissolved and they began free elections, though that only lasted until 2021.
The Elections
Myanmar had free elections up until the 2021 elections. After their elections, it became clear that the military wouldn’t have enough power politically, with Myanmars NLD (National League for Democracy) candidate winning Myanmar and also gaining majority in both of their other political branches. This led to the military claiming that the election was illegitimate, and, without any factual evidence, staged another coup d'état within Myanmar, detaining the country's NLD members and taking over the government once again and declaring a state of emergency to go into effect in the country for a year. Their new leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, announced on TV on the morning of February 1st that, “There was terrible fraud in the voter list during the democratic general election” that same day, fact or not,and became their new leader.
When this happened, it left their nation in shock, with those opposing this in the form of protesting being arrested by the military, people have decided to fight back in the forms of rebel armies once again. Joining groups like the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the United Wa State Army rebels began clashing with the military once more in 2021, to try and remove the dictatorship instilled into the country only so long after having free elections.
Present Time Myanmar
In recent years, Myanmar has seen the conflict sway to one side over the other. Maps show that Myanmar's military power has only a small portion of the country in their control. The military has hold of under 50% of the country and has less than 100 of their 330 townships in their control, with the rebel groups controlling the rest. The OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) reported the death toll being 5,350 people, along with over 3 million people having been displaced since the conflicts start in 2021
Those who still live in Myanmar's military controlled areas say it’s a struggle, with those still there experiencing inflation, power outages, and the fear of the military. In Myanmar, you can be stopped and have your phone checked and arrested for having photos that are deemed “harmful to the regime”. Those being recruited for the military usually don’t have a choice, as a law that went into effect in February called the “ People's Military Service Law” forces any male aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve up to two years of mandatory military service, no doubt due to the militaries losses in the conflict.
For now, the war in Myanmar seems to be at its height. The rebel groups seem clear they are not backing down from their fight for democracy in their country, and neither does the military. With countries focusing on wars in Ukraine and Palestine, we can only hope some will shift their help to the rebels of Myanmar.
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