The international community and global media may overlook the ongoing civil war in Myanmar (also known as Burma and Brahmadesh), but the ground situation indicates perpetual chaos. Thousands have been killed, thousands more injured, and millions, including women and children, have been rendered homeless due to the conflict that erupted after the military coup four years ago. Relentless fighting between the ruling military junta and ethnic armed groups, supported by a large section of Burmese nationals, has further complicated the situation. Lately, the junta forces, led by Min Aung Hlaing, have begun losing influence, and currently, less than 50% of the country’s territory remains under their direct control.
Latest reports reveal that the junta now controls only 32% of Myanmar’s townships, with 24% falling into full conflict zones and 44% under the control of revolutionary forces, ethnic resistance organizations, and people’s defense forces. To date, the Buddhist-majority nation has witnessed the killing of over 6,000 civilians, mostly by junta soldiers. No less than 27,000 people were arrested, and nearly 21,000 remain in military custody. Continuous airstrikes by junta forces on populated areas, setting many villages and urban localities ablaze across the country of 55 million people, have become commonplace. More than 3.2 million people have been displaced and are currently facing acute food, medical, and other logistical crises. In many relief camps, essential commodities have been prevented or restricted from transport and distribution among affected families by military authorities.
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Notably, the revolutionary forces under the banner of the “Three Brotherhood Alliance,” comprising the Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, launched a massive offensive (titled Operation 1027) in late 2023. To date, the ethnic groups and resistance forces have gained full control over 144 townships, leaving only 107 townships under the junta’s authority, with 79 townships still facing offensives from anti-junta forces. According to a Burmese source in Yangon, the junta has lost 173 military battalion headquarters, including two regional military commands, six command headquarters, and six strategic military bases, as well as 742 frontline outposts to the revolutionary fighters.
Moreover, the armed militias have brought under control the important routes connecting the border towns with Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and China. The AA fighters, in particular, captured 15 out of 17 Arakanese townships in western Myanmar along with a large number of military bases, including the junta’s strategic Western Command headquarters in Ann locality. Following the intervention of China, the TNLA and MNDAA announced a ceasefire, but their fighters had already seized over 15 townships as well as several military bases (including Northeastern Command Headquarters in Lashio) in northern Shan State and the Mandalay region.
Now, the junta is planning to conduct national elections this year. The junta-controlled Union Election Commission has even started preliminary preparations for the polls, including a countrywide census. However, the electoral process in the land of Golden Pagodas remains doubtful since its independence in 1948. The powerful government armed forces often dictate the political leadership, and the military-drafted 2008 Constitution has made the situation more critical for pro-democracy activists, as it reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for military personnel and their associates. The continued detention of pro-democracy crusader Daw Aung Suu Kyi, who turns 80 on June 19th, for a total of 19 years has only made the situation more complex.
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A comparison between the February 1, 2021, military coup and present-day Myanmar reflects that the country was experiencing a kind of political stability and economic growth under a quasi-democratic government in Naypyidaw, but now the whole country has become a battleground, where millions of civilians are suffering. The arbitrary military operations, including over 3,000 airstrikes on populated areas, have resulted in the deaths of at least 6,224 people, including 711 children and 1,387 women. The number of political prisoners has surged from 234 before the coup to 21,711 as of last month. A huge number of elected representatives, pro-democracy activists, writer-journalists, artists, and civilians have been imprisoned for opposing the military regime.
Myanmar has also become a dangerous country for working journalists, many of whom are murdered, jailed, and several independent media houses have been shut down with impunity for the perpetrators. Since the coup, no less than seven journalists were killed and 200 others arrested by the junta, with 43 journalists remaining under detention and 11 scribes serving long-term prison terms. Recently, the Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) issued a statement that there may be more journalists under detention, which is yet to come to light. It added that the military dictators unjustly arrested media workers under brutal laws like the Unlawful Associations Act, Counter-Terrorism Law, Telecommunications Law, Explosive Substances Act, Natural Disaster Management Law, Immigration Act, etc.
Appreciating the IPCM for documenting the media casualties and detentions under the current Burmese junta, the global media safety and rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) urged the military regime to release all detained media persons without condition or delay. PEC records reveal that since the last coup, the country lost journalists Ko Myat Thu Tun (Democratic Voice of Burma), Htet Myat Thu (Voice of Thanbyuzayat), Win Htut Oo (DVB), Pu Tui Dim (Khonumthung Media Group), Sai Win Aung (Federal News Journal), Aye Kyaw, and Ko Soe Naing (both freelancers) to military tortures. The PEC also added that a large number of media workers had already left Myanmar to escape the junta’s increasing persecution.