Burma is on Fire
The collapse of democracy in Myanmar is a crisis for democracy everywhere. In the U.S., we witnessed a violent coup attempt on January 6, 2021, but it was thankfully unsuccessful. In Myanmar, which has a long history of colonial and autocratic rule, military officers have successfully replaced a democratically elected government. There are now peaceful pro-democracy protests taking place all over the country, but the military is working to end these, even if it means killing protestors. The potential return to autocratic rule in Myanmar is a real possibility, and this creates a humanitarian, institutional, and strategic problem for the world.
On November 8, 2020, Myanmar held general elections. The results of the election placed the National League of Democracy (NLD), Myanmar’s ruling party, back in power. For the majority of Myanmar’s history as an independent nation, it has been ruled either by a totalitarian regime or by a military junta. The 2020 elections were only the third round of democratic elections in the country’s history, after the fall of the previous military regime in 1990. The hero of the democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, was re-elected as Prime Minister, and she was ready to be sworn into office on February 2, 2021.
On February 1, 2020, the country’s military leaders declared the election results to be illegitimate and took power. They arrested Suu Kyi and other members of the NLD and declared a one-year state of emergency. According to the Carter Center, which observed the election, there were pre-election issues, but “election day itself occurred without major irregularities being reported by mission observers.” Nonetheless, the military claimed widespread voter fraud and has held onto power. They have issued statewide media blackouts, arrested numerous people, and co-opted opposition politicians with the promise of influence within the new military regime.
On February 15, 2021, mass protests erupted throughout Myanmar. These have been peaceful protests, but the military has responded with lethal force. So far, over 500 protesters have been arrested and over 20 have been killed. Most recently, the armed forces attacked peaceful demonstrators in multiple cities with live ammunition, leaving 18 dead and at least 30 wounded. Since the start of the demonstrations, the armed forces have also regularly used tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and stun grenades. It’s not clear at this point how things will end, but a return to permanent military rule is a definite possibility.
As of March 3, 2021, the protests continue. The army’s violent crackdown on the protestors has only grown, and many more people have died as a result. The question now is whether the UN will get involved to protect Myanmar’s election results or at least stop the killing. Since Myanmar is a sovereign nation and the violence hasn’t spilled over their borders, the UN may not get involved at all. This places democracy in a dangerous position in Myanmar, and it weakens it around the world.
