Publicado por Mohamed-Badr Er-rahaoui. The military plays a pivotal role in Myanmar politics, beginning with General Ne Win’s coup in 1962, that saw the establishment of the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), steering the country toward poverty, oppression and isolationism. The 80s marked the beginning of a dire situation for Democracy and Human Rights as in the 1982 Citizenship Law that denied the Rohingya basic Human Rights, rendered them stateless and exposed them to persecution and exploitation. Followed by an economic turmoil in 1987 that sparked the “8888 Uprising” a year later, from a student-led movement to nationwide protests that saw Ne Win resign just to be replaced with a more violent Sein Lwin, the “Butcher of Rangoon”, intensifying crackdowns. Another coup followed in the same year, establishing the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), perpetuating repression and ignoring the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) 1990 electoral victory. Rebranded as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1997. Under the pretext of facilitating democratic transition, the junta begun drafting a constitution in 2008, one that will grant them key positions and leverage in the governments to come.

Myanmar experienced a short-lived democratic experiment that begun in the 2012 general elections that saw the NLD entering parliament and their landslide victory in the 2015 elections with Aung San Suu Kyi becoming State Counsellor. However, the hope she brought soon turned into disappointment and condemnation when she appeared at the International Court of Justice in 2019 and defended the military campaigns of 2016 and 2017 that targeted the Rohingya and left 700,000 displaced in tandem with accusation of mass killings and rapes. This democratic experiment was put to an end in 2021 when General Min Aung Hlaing’s coup ousted Suu Kyi, and brought back military rule to Myanmar and driving the country to instability and a civil war.