Category Archives: Myanmar

Myanmar: tanks roll into cities as internet shut down

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Diplomats warn ‘the world is watching’ amid fears for fate of pro-democracy protesters

Myanmar’s internet has been cut overnight on Sunday, hours after armoured vehicles rolled into several cities, prompting fears for the fate of protesters and warnings by diplomats that “the world is watching”.

Armoured cars appeared on the streets of Yangon, Myitkyina and Sittwe on Sunday, live footage broadcast online by local media showed, in the heaviest show of force so far by the military since it staged a coup on 1 February.

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Tens of thousands protest in Myanmar nine days after coup – video

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Tens of thousands of people took part a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday. Students marched through the centre of Yangon, the country's biggest city, carrying placards demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since Myanmar’s military overthrew the elected government on 1 February

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‘We cannot hope for anything good’: Myanmar coup sparks despair for Rohingya

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While Aung San Suu Kyi defended a genocidal campaign against the Muslim minority, refugees fear military rule will end dreams of a return home

For the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, news of the fall of Aung San Suu Kyi after the military coup was bittersweet.

After all, no community had felt more betrayed by Myanmar’s civilian leader. When she came to power in 2015, the belief was that she would overturn decades of persecution and finally bring about peace and citizenship, following in the footsteps of her father, Gen Aung San.

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Myanmar army chiefs order arrest of leading coup opponents

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Junta suspends rules restraining security forces as nationwide protests continue

Myanmar’s junta has suspended laws constraining security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without court approval and ordered the arrest of well-known backers of mass protests against the coup.

The announcements came on Saturday, the eighth day of country-wide demonstrations against the 1 February takeover and detention of the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, which halted an unsteady transition to democracy that began in 2011.

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Why Myanmar protesters see Aung San Suu Kyi as their greatest hope – video explainer

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Hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting across Myanmar since the army overthrew the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and detained most senior leaders on 1 February. 

Aung San Suu Kyi’s rise to power prompted hope she could end years of ethnic strife in Myanmar, but she has been accused of standing by while genocide was committed against the Rohingya people. The Guardian's south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, explains why – despite her fall from grace internationally – Aung San Suu Kyi is seen by so many protesters as the only person who can still save them from military rule

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‘I did what I thought was right’: a Myanmar protester voices her fears for the future

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Almost two weeks after the military coup, one demonstrator explains why she is still out on the streets

In previous years on Union Day – the Myanmar public holiday marking the agreement between ethnic leaders on 12 February 1947 to forge a unified country – Khin* had worn her traditional htamein, a snug maxiskirt. But since it would prevent her from running away if the police opened fire, this year she opted for loose trousers, large sunglasses, a baseball cap and face mask.

For the seventh consecutive morning she found a full-scale rebellion playing out on the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. A couple of thousand railway workers marched near her home as Khin, in her early 30s, reflected on a phone call she had just received from her father, a high-ranking official in the army, which seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government on 1 February.

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Myanmar police confront protesters and fire rubber bullets – video

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Police in Myanmar have clashed with protesters and fired rubber bullets at crowds in the  south-eastern city of Mawlamyine on the largest day of demonstrations so far against the military coup. The use of force left at least three people wounded and came hours before the UN human rights council was due to hold a special session to discuss the crisis


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Election officials detained in Myanmar ‘in bid to prove fraud’

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A senior polling officer and a human rights watchdog say arrests part of military’s attempt to discredit vote

Myanmar’s military government is detaining election commission officials in night-time raids and asking them to provide evidence that November’s election was rigged, according to a senior member of the organisation and a human rights watchdog.

The Tatmadaw justified its 1 February coup by alleging widespread irregularities in the vote, won decisively by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, but their claims have been rejected by the Union Election Commission (UEC), the organisation responsible for administering elections in Myanmar.

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Ties with Myanmar military put pressure on western companies

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Activists criticise oil and gas companies that have set up highly profitable joint ventures with army chiefs to exploit mineral resources

Western companies are facing growing calls to break ties with businesses run by Myanmar’s military after last week’s coup threatened to cast the impoverished south-east Asian country back into full-blown dictatorship.

The Japanese drinks company Kirin Holdings has announced it will abandon its involvement with a Myanmar brewery after a six-year partnership because of its close links to the military.

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Biden orders sanctions on Myanmar generals as key Aung San Suu Kyi aide detained

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US prevents generals from accessing $1bn in government funds as Kyaw Tint Swe held amid new wave of arrests

US President Joe Biden has approved an executive order for new sanctions on those responsible for the military coup in Myanmar, as the army detained another key aide to civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Fresh protests took place on Thursday following days of demonstrations in major cities and towns inside Myanmar calling for the military to cede power following its 1 February coup.

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Myanmar protesters return to streets in huge numbers amid police defections

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Protests swell across country, with dozens of police officers choosing to join protesters in call for reversal of coup

Protesters have turned out in huge numbers across Myanmar, a day after police instigated the most violent scenes yet in demonstrations against a military coup that removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

An estimated 100,000 people gathered in the commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday, according to witnesses, with many more marching across the country.

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Myanmar: gunfire heard as police and protesters clash – video

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Police in Myanmar have fired water cannon into crowds protesting against the 1 February coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.  

It is the fourth consecutive day of mass protest, despite the military banning gatherings of more than five people

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Myanmar protests: woman shot in head as police response escalates

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Teargas and water cannon also deployed on fourth day of protests against last week’s coup

Police in Myanmar have responded with increasing violence to protests against last week’s military coup, using water cannons, rubber bullets and live ammunition in a crackdown that left a woman in a critical condition on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of people marched in towns and cities across the country in defiance of a ban on gatherings in some areas to voice their opposition to the military takeover of the government.

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Three-finger salute: Hunger Games symbol adopted by Myanmar protesters

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The gesture was first used after a coup in Thailand in 2014 and has since come to stand for solidarity and resistance across the region

From Thailand to Myanmar, pro-democracy protesters are raising the three finger salute in opposition to military dictatorships. Adopted from the Hunger Games films, the gesture has become a symbol of resistance and solidarity for democracy movements in south-east Asia.

The salute was first used in Myanmar last week by medical workers, then youth protesters started raising it in opposition to the military coup. On Monday, one week after the takeover, the hand gesture could be seen during huge protests on the streets of Yangon.

On 1 February Myanmar’s army took power in a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. She and other senior party figures were detained in a morning raid. In response, tens of thousands have protested in the streets of Yangon and other cities as part of a growing campaign of civil disobedience. The military have blocked social media platforms in an attempt to stamp out dissent. The United Nations Security Council has called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other ministers detained.

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Protests swell in Myanmar one week after military coup

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Water cannon used on demonstrators in the capital as marches take place in cities and towns across the country

Massive crowds of anti-coup protesters have marched in towns and cities across Myanmar on the third day of street demonstrations against a coup a week ago in which the army detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

From the Himalayan town of Putao to cities on the shore of the Andaman Sea, demonstrators came out in the biggest numbers so far since the coup.

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Myanmar: tens of thousands march against military coup for second day

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Large demonstrations across country despite junta blocking internet access and restricting phone lines

Demonstrators in Myanmar have vowed to continue their protests until their elected leaders are released and democracy returns, as tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of towns and cities across the country for a second day.

Large crowds gathered in the main city of Yangon and elsewhere, condemning the military for ousting the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup.

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Thousands march in protest against Myanmar military coup – video

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Thousands of people took to the streets of Yangon on Saturday to denounce this week’s military coup and demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's ousted leader. Myanmar’s junta has tried to silence dissent by temporarily blocking Facebook and extended the social media crackdown to Twitter and Instagram on Saturday in the face of the growing protest movement

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Myanmar: tens of thousands protest against coup despite internet blackout

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Demonstrators in standoff with police amid demands for release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Myanmar on Saturday in the first major demonstration since the military seized power, despite a nationwide internet blackout imposed to stifle dissent.

In the main city Yangon, protesters chanted “down with the military dictatorship” and carried images of the ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, whose party won a landslide election in November. The military detained both in raids early on Monday morning and they have not been seen in public since.

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