A pointless reduction in the jail sentences for Myanmar’s democratically elected leaders is unlikely to quell the fires of opposition now burning across the country.
Myanmar’s seat was left empty at a recent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Achmad Ibrahim/AFP via Getty Images
Since seizing power in a 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military has killed more than 3,000 civilians and pro-democracy activists. But the army has struggled to contain an armed resistance movement.
Myanmar junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Aung Shine Oo/AP/AAP
The killings are a tragic reminder of the costs of last year’s coup, and they’re exacerbating the pressures being felt by the regime at home and abroad.
The execution of four activists and opposition politicians is another part of the junta’s campaign of violence and repression in Myanmar.
Activists including Myanmar citizens protest in Tokyo on July 26, 2022, against Myanmar’s recent execution of four prisoners
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Myanmar’s military junta is losing some control over the country, but its execution of four high-profile leaders and prisoners sends a warning to Myanmar citizens and the rest of the world.
An activist holds up a defaced portrait of Myanmar Gen. Min Aung Hlaing during a rally against the military coup in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2021, as the ASEAN summit was being held.
(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
Will the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, start taking tougher stances against authoritarian and military regimes? Its recent treatment of Myanmar’s military ruler is promising.
Every March 27, the Myanmar military celebrates its anniversary with a parade. The day of the 2021 parade, soldiers killed at least 90 pro-democracy protesters.
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What began in the 1940s as a revolutionary army created to liberate Myanmar from British colonial rule soon turned repressive. The country has been a military dictatorship on and off since 1962.
The international community has gained a much greater understanding of the Myanmar military’s transnational revenue streams. Targeted sanctions can work if the world just follows the money.