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The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Myanmar's bloody history can point the way to a future free of tyranny
August 8 is a date etched in blood. On this day in 1988, Myanmar's military turned its guns on thousands of peaceful protesters in what is now remembered as the 8888 uprising. Although it was by no means the first or last time that peaceful protests in Myanmar have been met by military force, August 8 1988 has become totemic. It gave rise to the National League for Democracy (NLD), catapulting Aung San Suu Kyi into its leadership. Almost 40 years later, Myanmar is ruled by yet another brutal and illegitimate military regime, which seized power in a coup on 1 February 2021, overthrowing Suu Kyi's democratically elected government. As in 1988, the military responded to post-coup protests with extreme violence. Today, more than 22,000 political prisoners are behind bars, including Suu Kyi and elected President Win Myint. Suu Kyi, who already spent 15 years under house arrest over three periods of detention, is serving a 27-year sentence. This junta is even more brutal than its predecessors, committing systematic human rights violations that amount to mass atrocity crimes. In its unrelenting assaults on ethnic communities and pro-democracy resistance groups, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, estimates that the military has killed over 6,800 civilians. At least four million people have been displaced by the conflict, with over 100,000 homes destroyed, alongside schools, hospitals and places of worship. The UN reports over 600 airstrikes against civilian populations in the four months since the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on 31 March – the total over the past four years is exponentially higher. Except for a decade of fragile, civilian-led democracy immediately after Myanmar gained independence in 1948, and five years of the same under Suu Kyi before the 2021 coup, the military has held direct power throughout the country's 77-year independence. Every successive junta has killed civilians, whether through protest crackdowns or in wars against the country's ethnic communities. The current regime has gone further by reviving judicial executions. Military-controlled courts have sentenced at least 172 prisoners to death, including the 1988 student leader Ko Jimmy, who was executed in 2022 alongside NLD lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw. I had the privilege of meeting both men on several occasions, and their deaths still weigh heavily on my heart. So, as we remember 8888, let it not only be a commemoration of Myanmar's past tragedies. Let it also be a call to action to address Myanmar's current crisis. On the Thailand-Myanmar border last month, I met a group of Myanmar MPs who had been elected in 2020 but fled after the 2021 coup. One of them asked me, 'Why won't the international community help the people of Myanmar in the way they help Ukraine?' That question should trouble the conscience of policymakers in every democracy around the world. At the very least, there should be a global arms embargo against the junta. Aviation fuel should be prohibited, and secondary sanctions placed on providers such as China and Russia, to impede the military's capability to bomb civilians and kill children. Targeted sanctions against the regime should be tightened – not lifted, as the United States has recently done, in a move rightly condemned by the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar. The elections, which junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing plans to hold, must be categorically rejected as an illegitimate charade, and the military regime brought to justice. It was never properly held to account for the 1988 massacres, and it should be made to answer for its litany of crimes, including the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya. As we work to cut off the regime's lifelines, the international community should provide one to the people of Myanmar. Over 45 million people in Myanmar – four out of five – live below or just above the poverty line. They need urgent assistance delivered to reach those in need without lining the pockets of the junta. It is right to remember history, because it is only by doing so that we learn lessons and find inspiration for the future. Like all dictatorships, Myanmar's junta would prefer that we forget 8888, and so we must commemorate this anniversary. But we must do so not only by looking back, but by helping the people of Myanmar achieve the freedom which they have so long been denied and for which they have struggled for decades.
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Myint Swe, president under Myanmar's junta, dies, state broadcaster reports
(Reuters) -Myint Swe, who became Myanmar's president during a 2021 coup against an elected civilian government and immediately handed power to the military, has died a year after going on medical leave, the state broadcaster said on Thursday. The 74-year-old former general died in hospital on Thursday morning, state-run MRTV said. He became nominal president after the incumbent Win Myint was arrested during the coup alongside Nobel laureate and de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. They have been detained ever since. Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup plunged the Southeast Asian nation into civil war, with the military fighting to contain a rebellion and accused of widespread atrocities, which it denies. Myint Swe had served as vice president under Myanmar's quasi-civilian system before becoming the figurehead president. The junta had depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule. He was placed on medical leave in July last year, with his duties passed to junta chief and armed forces commander Min Aung Hlaing. Last week, the military nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election later this year, with the military chief remaining in charge of the war-torn country in his other role as acting president. (Reporting by Reuters reporters; Writing by John Mair; Editing by David Stanway)
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Myint Swe, president under Myanmar's junta, dies, state broadcaster reports
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Myint Swe, who became Myanmar's president during a 2021 coup against an elected civilian government and immediately handed power to the military, has died a year after going on medical leave, the state broadcaster said on Aug 7. The 74-year-old former general died in hospital on the morning of Aug 7, state-run MRTV said. He became nominal president after the incumbent Win Myint was arrested during the coup alongside Nobel laureate and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. They have been detained ever since. Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup plunged the South-east Asian nation into civil war, with the military fighting to contain a rebellion and accused of widespread atrocities, which it denies. Mr Myint Swe had served as vice-president under Myanmar's quasi-civilian system before becoming the figurehead president. The junta had depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule. He was placed on medical leave in July on 2024, with his duties passed to junta chief and armed forces commander Min Aung Hlaing. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Some ageing condos in Singapore struggle with failing infrastructure, inadequate sinking funds Singapore PUB investigating wastewater discharge in Eunos: Pritam Singapore Water gel guns among newer tools NParks uses to manage monkeys in estates World Trump eyes 100% chips tariff, but 0% for US investors like Apple World Trump's 100% semiconductor tariffs may hit chipmakers in Singapore, other SEA nations Singapore Afraid of small talk? Scared to make a phone call? How social skills workshops are helping young people Singapore ST and Uniqlo launch design contest for Singapore stories T-shirt collection Business DBS shares hit record-high after Q2 profit beats forecast on strong wealth fees, trading income Last week, the military nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election later in 2025, with the military chief remaining in charge of the war-torn country in his other role as acting president. REUTERS
AsiaOne
3 days ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
Myint Swe, president under Myanmar's junta, dies, state broadcaster reports, Asia News
Myint Swe, who became Myanmar's president during a 2021 coup against an elected civilian government and immediately handed power to the military, has died a year after going on medical leave, the state broadcaster said on Thursday (Aug 7). The 74-year-old former general died in hospital on Thursday morning, state-run MRTV said. He became nominal president after the incumbent Win Myint was arrested during the coup alongside Nobel laureate and de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. They have been detained ever since. Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup plunged the Southeast Asian nation into civil war, with the military fighting to contain a rebellion and accused of widespread atrocities, which it denies. Myint Swe had served as vice president under Myanmar's quasi-civilian system before becoming the figurehead president. The junta had depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its rule. He was placed on medical leave in July last year, with his duties passed to junta chief and armed forces commander Min Aung Hlaing. Last week, the military nominally transferred power to a civilian-led interim government ahead of a planned election later this year, with the military chief remaining in charge of the war-torn country in his other role as acting president. [[nid:721043]]
The Mainichi
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi turns 80 in 4th year of detention
YANGON (Kyodo) -- Myanmar's ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi turned 80 Thursday, more than four years after she was jailed following a military coup and as the country faces an intensifying civil war. The democracy icon has been imprisoned in the capital Naypyitaw, with her exact health status and location remaining largely unknown, according to local and overseas media reports. British newspaper The Guardian released Wednesday rare video footage of Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint at trial hearings dated Aug. 22 and Dec. 12, 2022. Suu Kyi, wearing a white jacket and a long Longyi skirt with a face mask on, and Win Myint were seated in a courtroom and then stood up, possibly at the end of the session. A policewoman and a policeman were seen guarding them. By the end of 2022, Suu Kyi had been sentenced to 33 years in prison on a total of 19 charges, including corruption and election fraud, that her supporters and many international observers deem politically motivated. Although the sentence was later reduced to 27 years, it essentially remains a life sentence. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has spent approximately a quarter of her life under various forms of detention, including during the previous period of military rule until 2011. Suu Kyi's sons have not been able to visit her, and she is cut off from outside contact. Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told reporters in March that Suu Kyi was in good health, saying "special medical teams formed with health officials from the military and the Health Ministry are conducting regular check-ups for her." But according to the Guardian report, Aung Kyaw, a doctor and former political prisoner jailed for treating anti-coup protesters, described her care as "rudimentary and basic." He was quoted as saying that poor nutrition, lack of sunlight and the risk of dehydration and heatstroke during summer could worsen her health. The records show that on at least one day the temperature in her room reached 31 C. "The health implications of keeping someone who's almost 80 in a confined space and isolation, and cutting her connection with family and friends, can have a very heavy toll on her physical and mental health," Aung Kyaw was quoted as saying. Myanmar faces an intensifying civil war, with the junta placing the country under a state of emergency following the Feb. 1, 2021 coup and cracking down on resistance from pro-democracy forces and ethnic minority rebels.
