Shortly after 10.30 am on the morning of 19th July 1947, de facto Burmese Prime Minister Aung San, founder of the Burmese army, was sitting in a meeting of the Executive Council, the shadow government of Burma, set up by the British in preparation for the transfer of power from colonial rule to an independent Burma. Suddenly, without warning, a gang of armed men broke in and assassinated Aung San and six of his cabinet ministers. It can be argued that the hopes for a peaceful and prosperous independent Burma died with Aung San that day.
Hannah Beech noted in Time in 2013 that: “Aung San, was one of the few Bamar to earn the trust of ethnic groups. He spearheaded the 1947 Panglong Conference, in which five ethnic groups, including the Kachin, agreed to join the Union of Burma in exchange for a certain amount of autonomy in a federalized system. Aung San, however, was assassinated soon after the Panglong agreement was signed, and civil war quickly descended over a nation that had only recently wrested itself from the British Empire.” The long-suffering people of Burma, both Bamar (ethnic Burmans) and the other ethnic groups are still living with the consequences of the assassination 77 years later.
Background to the crisis in Burma
The dream of a federal Burma, with autonomy for the many different ethnic groups in Burma, died along with Aung San and his cabinet ministers that dark day in July 1947. Those who took power in Burma as it became independent in 1948, wanted a centralised Burma, leading to armed rebellion by many ethnic minority groups, such as the Karens, Kachins and Shan, who wanted the greater autonomy they thought they had been promised. There was a democracy of sorts until another dark day in the history of the country came early in the 1960’s.
It was in March 1962 that the military took over the government, in the person of General Ne Win. The excuse for their takeover of the country was the unrest in ethnic minority areas after a highly centralised regime was set up after the British withdrew at the end of the Second World War, rather than the federal system, which had also been proposed.
When the military took over in 1962, they did so because they claimed that they had to restore what they saw as law and order. What this meant in practice was that the many minorities in Burma, such as the Rohingyas and the Karens, the Kachins and the Shan, as well as many others were to suffer appalling discrimination and persecution.
1980’s in Burma
Meanwhile, the military renamed themselves the State Law and Order Restoration Council or SLORC for short. The Rohingyas were denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Act, while the SLORC also sought to build a gas pipeline through Karen territory, which would destroy both the environment and people’s homes and featured a free fire zone around it. Opponents of the regime were incarcerated in the brutal Insein Prison in what was then still called Rangoon, now Yangon.
These were just some of the many ways in which the SLORC sought to discriminate against, persecute and use many of the citizens of Burma. The Burmese army were using the country and its people for their own benefits, especially the leadership, who became fabulously rich, while most people stayed terribly poor.
In 1988 there was an uprising after the people of Burma had had enough and found their utter despair outweighing their fear of the military after General ne Win had been responsible for wrecking the economy. His lucky number was nine, so all the ten-kyat notes were changed to nines and the 100-kyat notes to 90s. In the subsequent crackdown after the uprising, about 3 000 were killed and it was said that the streets of Rangoon had to be hosed down with water, so deep and persistent were the blood stains.
1990’s in Burma
A surprise election in 1990 turned out to be no more than a ruse after the National League for Democracy lead by Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of General Aung San, the father of the Burmese nation who led the country to independence from the British in 1948, had won 82% of the seats. The election had got the pro-democracy supporters out of the woodwork and some of those elected were rewarded with long prison sentences.
The persecution of minorities continued through the 1990’s and into the 21st century as groups of Burmese soldiers raided areas such as Karen State in the east of the country and Rakhine State in the west, the home of the Rohingya people. By 2000 about 150 000 Karens were in refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border, while a similar situation with the Rohingyas developed along the border between Burma and Bangladesh. Other minorities in Burma were also regularly attacked by the huge Burmese army, which at 400 000 was four times bigger than the British army and was almost solely used by the generals for internal oppression.
Meanwhile leader of the pro-democracy party the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, had become a great icon for human rights and seemed to be a worthy successor to the mantle of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mandela.
2010 onwards
It was a time of great hope and optimism therefore when in November 2010, ASSK was released from house arrest and elections took place in 2012, in which the pro-democracy NLD did very well. It seemed that the long nightmare of the people of Burma, especially minorities like the Rohingyas and the Karens would soon be over. Meanwhile, in 2011, as the Northeast became a hot bed of support for democracy and human rights in Burma, Newcastle City Council awarded Aung San Suu Kyi the freedom of the city.
Aung San Suu Kyi was banned by the constitution from becoming president under the spurious condition that she had been married to a foreigner, in effect simply to stop her becoming president. However, she took the role of state counsellor, which still gave her as leader of the NLD a lot of power and influence. However, this was not a real democracy, and the real power still lay in the hands of the army generals and especially Min Aung Hlaing.
Rohingya Genocide 2017
So the scene was set for the terrible tragedy that began in August 2017, when the Burmese army invaded Rakhine State in the west of Burma and perpetrated a genocide which was so bad that it has been reported that: “Rohingyas arriving in Bangladesh said they fled after troops, backed by local Buddhist mobs, responded by burning their villages and attacking and killing civilians. At least 6,700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under the age of five, were killed in the month after the violence broke out, according to medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Amnesty International says the Myanmar military also raped and abused Rohingya women and girls.”
And during this nightmare what did the human rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi have to say as state counsellor have to say? Little or nothing. The daughter of General Aung San found it very difficult to criticise the army her father had founded, and the populist politician won out against the human rights icon. As a consequence, Newcastle City Council rescinded her award of freedom of the city in 2018.
The 2021 Coup and aftermath
Aung San Suu Kyi’s support for the military in their genocidal activities in western Burma was not enough to keep her out of prison, when the military launched another coup in February 2021. She was arrested and jailed after 18 months of trials on 19 charges on issues including corruption, which are largely seen as sham. It was reported at the end of 2022 that: Aung San Suu Kyi had been imprisoned for a further 7 years taking her total sentence to 33 years. As she was 77 at the time, it seems likely that as things stand, Aung San Suu Kyi will die in prison.
The 2021 coup has seen renewed military campaigns by military groups linked to the ethnic minorities against the military regime, and while this has seen some notable successes it has also added to the suffering of the people of Burma. It is now believed that the state of Burma or Myanmar, might now be on the verge of disintegration. As if the suffering of the last 62 years was not enough, this prospect threatens the people of Burma with yet more chaos.
Simon Tisdall noted
Simon Tisdall in the Guardian has noted that: “a break-up would send destabilising shock waves coursing across the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh and all of south-east Asia. The humanitarian implications for its 54 million people are dire. A collapse would boost separatist forces and non-state actors elsewhere. And it would severely dent China’s claims to regional leadership. If President Xi Jinping cannot manage Myanmar, what price Beijing’s superpower pretensions?” On the other hand, have the people of Burma not already suffered enough under the draconian rule of the military these past 62 years?
It is also noted that as much as two thirds of the country is beyond the control of the military junta while the UN are reported as saying that “crimes against humanity, war crimes and “horrific levels of brutality” are escalating at an alarming rate”. While the collapse of the state is not imminent, the immediate future seems likely to be unceasing warfare, with all the pain and misery that goes with it. There have also been reports of at least one rebel group, fighting against the brutal military junta, also attacking unarmed Rohingya civilians.
Meanwhile China is said to be playing a cynical game of divide and rule, supporting the regime, while also giving succour to rebel groups, such as the Kachin, who dominate the land near its border. Consequently, China is making the situation worse by pursuing a self-serving policy, while showing no interest in the restoration of any form of democracy in Burma.
The only outcome to the ongoing tragedy, which would be helpful to the vast majority of the 54 million people of Burma, would be a peaceful transition to a democracy where human rights of all people are fully respected.
Life on the ground
It is over 20 years now since I visited Myawaddy a Burmese town on the Saleem river, the border with Thailand. Along the same border where I visited and taught in two refugee camps, Mae Ra Ma and Umpiem and also visited a third camp Mae La.
I have never forgotten the camps, nor the people who were stuck in them, yet still displayed such great warmth and hospitality to visitors like me. Nor have I forgotten Myawaddy and the way puzzled locals looked at me, no doubt wondering why I was there, given so many wanted to leave a town that was then firmly under the control of the Burmese military regime.
Zoya Phan
Myawaddy has been in the news again recently. On 16th June, Zoya Phan, a leading activist with Burma Campaign UK noted that the town nearly fell to resistance forces against the military junta and that sent shockwaves through neighbouring Thailand.
Zoya also points out that the military made a mistake when they launched their coup in February 2021, as it has been met by fierce resistance. Zoya also noted that, “in response to growing resistance, the military has unleashed its full force against the population. They deliberately target civilians with airstrikes, drone attacks, artillery shelling, landmines and incendiary bombs. They target villages, camps for internally displaced people, religious sites, hospitals, schools and farms. They violate international law by targeting civilians and blocking aid to areas with ethnic minority populations. They have committed mass killings, burned villages and towns and used civilians as human shields.”
The situation on the ground is desperate. Zoya states that the people in her area, Karen State, otherwise known as Kawthoolei, on the east side of Burma, live in fear of attacks by the Burmese military, while children fall ill due to the lack of food and clean water.
“We will not give up”
Despite these problems, Zoya also has this to say:
“We will not give up. The people of Burma will not give up. For the first time, it looks very possible the Burmese military can be defeated by people power. That’s why it’s more important than ever for the international community to support us. We will continue to fight until we have real peace, democracy and human rights in our country.
The prospect of finally defeating the military gives us hope despite the suffering.”
What can be done?
Simon Tisdall suggests the following:
“Sanctions should be expanded and enforced. Diplomatic pressure via Asean and the UN should be intensified. Burma Campaign UK has good ideas worth supporting, including disinvestment and a ban on sales of aviation fuel. More than anything, the Myanmar emergency must be prioritised. In April, Barbara Woodward, a UK ambassador, told the UN security council: “We will not allow Myanmar to become a forgotten crisis”. Britain must keep its word.”
However, it is argued by Zoya Phan that International donors and United Nations (UN) agencies have been far too slow to “wake up to the reality that the military is losing control and the only way to reach millions of vulnerable people is to work with local civil society and local administrations run by ethnic revolutionary organisations. It’s not acceptable to continue to operate out of military-controlled Rangoon and allow the Burmese military to dictate who can and cannot receive international aid.”
Humanitarian aid
Zoya goes on to say that “Governments must also increase humanitarian aid to the people of Burma. Incredibly, the UK and the European Union (EU) have cut aid to Burma by 70 per cent since the coup, despite the huge increase in need.”
Until the international community truly wakens up to the scale of the crisis in Burma, the nightmare for the Rohingyas goes on, as do the struggles for human rights and human dignity for other minorities in Burma, such as the Karens and the Kachins and all the people of this long-suffering country will continue to live lives which are sadly diminished. The people are left with the prospect of more deadly warfare and the potential breakup of the state when what is needed and what they want is a peaceful transition to democracy.
People from the Northeast have long supported people from Burma, including helping people in refugee camps in both Bangladesh to the west and Thailand to the east. For more information about the situation in Burma and how you can help the people there, please see here.
How many people in Burma have been born and lived diminished lives since the assassination of Aung San in 1947, or for that matter wince the military junta of General Ne Win took over in March 1962? We can only hope for a better future for those born in Burma today…
