What’s going on in Myanmar?

History of Myanmar / Burma

Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia with an estimated population of over 54 million. (World Bank 2023) It was a British colony until 1948. In 1962 there was the first military coup and in 1995 the most prominent figure of the democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, was placed under arrest until 2010. Although the military has not always ruled, Myanmar has been under a military dictatorship for most of the time since the colonial rulers left until today.

Nevertheless, the democracy movement was able to achieve an opening of the country since 2011. A civilian parliament was established and Aung San Suu Kyi became the “de facto head of government”. Only de facto, because the military junta had enforced a law according to which people whose children have a foreign citizenship cannot officially become president. And Aung San Suu Kyi’s son has a British citizenship, which is why she could not assume this position.

Although there was officially a civilian parliament between 2011 and 2021, the military retained 25% of the seats in this very parliament during this period. The economy was liberalized, e.g. in the telecommunications sector, and state control reduced. In 2012, state censorship was formally abolished. (Jørgensen 2019)

The country is divided into urban and rural regions: When the British left the region in 1948, they established “Burma” and various ethnic groups were united in the state of Burma. From the beginning, the Burmese formed the majority and tensions arose with the other ethnic groups, who now lived as minorities in the border regions. The strong tensions between Burmese and “non-Burmese” minorities did not diminish even after the democratic reforms launched in 2011. There were repeated armed conflicts between the Burmese majority and the ethnic minorities. (ibid.) The most well-known ethnic group is probably the Rohingya: many of them have fled to Bangladesh in recent years and are now living in the world’s largest refugee camp, near Cox’s Bazar.

Current situation

Following allegations of electoral fraud in November 2020, there was another military coup staged on February 1, 2021. The army under commander Min Aung Hlaing secured control of all branches of government, arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the civilian government and declared a state of emergency.
A few days after the coup, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the military. The protest spread throughout the country. There were strikes on the railroads, in healthcare and education, among mine and textile workers, in the public sector, in logistics and in many other branches of work, which culminated in a general strike in March 2021 and from which the Civil Disobedience Movement emerged. (The Guardian 2021) At the forefront: the Federation of General Workers Myanmar (FGWM).

The workers wanted to make the dictatorship impossible. (Ratcliffe 2021) However, as the general strike was unable to bring down the junta, a broad trade union alliance in Myanmar called for “comprehensive economic sanctions” to be imposed on the country in order to bleed the military government dry. (IndustriALL 2021) Large oil and gas companies in particular have been called upon to freeze their investments in Myanmar and their trade with junta actors. (Justice for Myanmar 2021). Some companies have withdrawn from the country as a result.

Large-scale demonstrations were still possible in the first few weeks after the coup. The first demonstrator was shot dead by the military three weeks later. As a result, the violence against the opposition continued to escalate. Demonstrations were soon no longer possible at all, but the protest became more creative at times: people banged on pots, pans and anything that made noise and more flash mobs were organized. (The Guardian 2021) In the meantime, even that is hardly possible anymore.

The military is even burning down entire villages if their inhabitants are suspected of supporting the resistance movement.
As a result, more and more people – especially young people – have joined the armed resistance, which operates out of the jungle in the border regions. Numerous armed units, the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), have emerged from the Civil Disobedience Movement – with the support of the NUG (National Unity Government) in exile. Burmese from the larger cities repeatedly join armed rebel units, some of which are trained by ethnic minorities and fight together with them against the military junta. (ibid.) (The Straits Times 2021) While in previous decades the armed units of the ethnic minorities have mainly acted separately from each other, in recent times they are acting more in unity and are sometimes very successful with alliances such as the 3 Brotherhood Alliance: In October 2023, for example, they jointly conquered a border town with China and thus gained control of a strategically important border crossing. This success marked a turning point: until then, the rebels had mainly fought to defend their territories against the military. (Thit 2024) Since the so-called “Operation 1027”, they have even been able to repeatedly conquer territories from the junta.

All in all there is a civil war taking place in Myanmar: sexual violence is used by the military as a weapon against the population and as a means of intimidation. In order to unsettle the resistance movement, even children are killed in front of their parents. The junta repeatedly cuts off the internet, especially in regions where the opposing side has become particularly strong.

In an Al Jazeera article, the author describes the situation as follows:

„In response to the increase in armed resistance, the Tatmadaw has launched indiscriminate air and ground strikes on civilian areas, displacing 230,000 people since the coup. Security forces have also looted and burned homes, blocked aid access and the transport of relief items, restricted water supplies, cut telecommunications networks, shelled places of refuge, and killed and arrested volunteers seeking to deliver humanitarian assistance.“ (Fishbein 2021)

Almost 30,000 politically motivated arrests and more than 6,600 deaths – these are the proven figures after more than four years of military dictatorship in Myanmar. (AAPP 2025)

The fact that the military hardly allows any international aid into the country has become a major problem, especially in recent weeks: At the end of March, there was a severe earthquake in Myanmar, the epicenter was near Mandalay, the second largest city in the country. Thousands were killed and vital infrastructure was destroyed. In the first few days, aid workers from China, India and Thailand were allowed into the country, but a few days later, when there was no longer any chance of finding survivors, they left again. Since then, people have been on their own again. For many, especially in remote regions, the urgently needed aid has never reached them. The official death toll is less than 4,000. According to estimates, however, the realistic figures could be in the five or even six-figure range. (Cleven 2025) The junta is trying to prevent such information from leaving the country – or from being ascertained in the first place. The survivors in the affected regions around Mandalay or Sagaing are now also threatened with epidemics, as the dead could hardly be buried properly.

As trade unions are banned in Myanmar, working conditions there have deteriorated massively since the coup in 2021. There are also many textile factories, just like in China or Bangladesh. The workers work in poor hygienic conditions for a pittance, they have hardly any vacation days and usually need to work six days a week, also depending additional pay through overtime.

References:

  • AAPP (2025): Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. https://aappb.org, 08.05.2023
  • BBC (2021): Danny Fenster: US journalist freed from Myanmar jail. In: BBC News.
  • Cleven, Thoralf (2025): „Auf jeden Fall werden die Opferzahlen sehr hoch sein“ – Interview zur Situation in Myanmar mit Henry Braun von der Welthungerhilfe. rnd.de/panorama/erdbeben-in-myanmar-experte-befuerchtet-dramatische-opferzahlen, 06.05.2025
  • Fishbein, Emily (2021): Myanmar military adopts ‘four cuts’ to stamp out coup    opponents. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/5/the-people-hate-them-more-indiscriminate-attacks-on-civilians, 31.01.2022
  • Funakoshi, Minami/Januta, Andrea (2021): Myanmar’s internet suppression. Reuters. https://graphics.reuters.com/MYANMAR-POLITICS/INTERNET-RESTRICTION/rlgpdbreepo/, 02.08.2021
  • IndustriALL (2021): IndustriALL supports campaign for comprehensive economic sanctions against Myanmar junta. IndustriALL. http://www.industriall-union.org/industriall-supports-campaign-for-comprehensive-economic-sanctions-against-myanmar-junta, 07.12.2021
  • Jørgensen, Karen H. (2019): The Meaning of Internet Access in Myanmar
  • Justice for Myanmar (2021): How oil and gas majors bankroll the Myanmar military regime | Justice For Myanmar. https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/how-oil-and-gas-majors-bankroll-the-myanmar-military-regime, 07.12.2021
  • Lau, Jessie (2021): Myanmar’s Women Are on the Front Lines Against the Junta. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/12/myanmar-women-protest-junta-patriarchy-feminism/, 15.11.2021
  • Ratcliffe, Rebecca (2021): Myanmar protesters hold general strike as crowds push for “five twos revolution.” In: The Guardian.
  • The Guardian (2021): The nights of pots and pans are back, on Myanmar’s fearful streets. In: The Guardian.
  • The Straits Times (2021): Hundreds of Myanmar activists hold flash mob protest against military rule. In: The Straits Times.
  • Thit, Nayt (2024): “How Operation 1027 Transformed War Against Myanmar Junta”. irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/how-operation-1027-transformed-war-against-myanmar-junta, 06.05.2025
  • World Bank (2023): Population, total – Myanmar. data.worldbank.org, 06.05.2025