By Vihaan Majumdar
On February 1st, 2021, Myanmar’s democratically elected government was overthrown by the military, with Commander-in-Chief and now-Prime Minister of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing leading the coup. Since then, there have been many allegations of human rights abuses in Myanmar, and many countries have levied sanctions as a result. Here’s an update on what’s going on.
Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since the coup, and on Monday was sentenced to four years in prison for violating coronavirus restrictions and illegally possessing walkie-talkies while under house arrest. On Friday, she was charged with 5 new corruption charges, according to a league official. These charges, on top of five other corruption charges already levied against her, are reported to be in connection with Suu Kyi’s granting of permits to rent and buy a helicopter. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine.
Protests erupted after the coup, and military force was used to put them down. Since then, there has been intense fighting between the military junta and opposition forces, and it is reported that up to 170,000 people have fled their homes in the Kayah state due to the attacks by the military, and supplies to the city have been cut off.The fighting in the Kayah state has caused brutal crackdowns by the government, including on Christmas Eve, where more than 30 people, including children, were murdered and their bodies burnt. On Tuesday, the government launched airstrikes on the city of Loikaw after it appeared as though their ground forces were defeated by resistance troops.The military is also reported to have burned houses in the Minelone ward of Loikaw.
