{"id":10627,"date":"2023-05-07T16:42:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-07T16:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=10627"},"modified":"2023-05-07T16:42:03","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T16:42:03","slug":"myanmars-brutal-two-year-war-against-its-people-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=10627","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar\u2019s brutal, two-year war against its people, explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“two years on, 3,000 civilians<\/a>have reportedly been killed by the Tatmadaw<\/a>, though the number of civilian deaths caused by both the junta and the resistance is likely higher. The airstrike is also indicative of the junta\u2019s determination to retain power no matter the cost, despite its inability to maintain territorial control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Myanmar has a long history of brutal and repressive military rule, the stunning violence of the current regime has made it \u201cthe worst regime in Southeast Asia since the Khmer Rouge,\u201d according to former US Ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel<\/a>, referring to Pol Pot\u2019s murderous dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The junta, or Tatmadaw as it\u2019s called in Myanmar, has solidified the country\u2019s status as a pariah state with its repressive tactics and scorched-earth military attacks. Yet it has stated its plans to hold elections this year<\/a> in order to legitimize its control of the government on the international stage \u2014 or at least make an attempt to do so.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“opposition to military rule has morphed from protests to outright conflict, as armed factions aligned with Myanmar\u2019s many ethnic groups battle government forces for territorial control. Though many groups fight under the banner of the shadow government, the National Unity Government (NUG), the opposition has thus far proven ineffective at \u2014 and perhaps uninterested in \u2014 building the coalitions necessary to create a future democratic government, according to David Scott Mathieson, an independent analyst.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Given that the Tatmadaw controls all of Myanmar\u2019s state enterprises, including the oil, mining, and timber industries, it can \u2014 and will \u2014 continue its horrific campaign as long as those resources hold out, even as that battle plunges the country into extreme poverty<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2022 report from the UN OHCHR<\/a>, the Tatmadaw government \u201chas collapsed in many areas nationwide, the public health system has effectively broken down, and more than half of all school-aged children have not accessed education for two academic years.\u201d Ye Myo Hein, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and visiting fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, tweeted in late March regarding the fuel cuts and energy crisis affecting Myanmar, noting that, \u201cThe country has been experiencing increasingly frequent and disruptive power cuts \u2014 up to 14 and 15 hours a day in some areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But neither side has the impetus to negotiate a solution so that Myanmar can rebuild its society and economy, nor does either have a particularly convincing vision for the future. If the Tatmadaw does manage to hold elections, they will be a sham and will convince few besides themselves of their mandate to govern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should the resistance somehow outlast or defeat the regime, it will have to grow from a symbolic government-in-exile to a unifying political force capable of not only rebuilding the nation and its economy, but also establishing a diverse governing coalition that reflects the Burmese people\u2019s interests.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vox.com\/world-politics\/2023\/4\/16\/23685037\/myanmars-brutal-war-civil-strife-tatmadaw<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“two years on, 3,000 civilians have reportedly been killed by the Tatmadaw, though the number of civilian deaths caused by both the junta and the resistance is likely higher. The airstrike is also indicative of the junta\u2019s determination to retain power no matter the cost, despite its inability to maintain territorial control.
\nThough Myanmar has a long history of brutal and repressive military rule, the stunning violence of the current regime has made it \u201cthe worst regime in Southeast Asia since the Khmer Rouge,\u201d according to former US Ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel, referring to Pol Pot\u2019s murderous dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n

The junta, or Tatmadaw as it\u2019s called in Myanmar, has solidified the country\u2019s status as a pariah state with its repressive tactics and scorched-earth military attacks. Yet it has stated its plans to hold elections this year in order to legitimize its control of the government on the international stage \u2014 or at least make an attempt to do so.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“opposition to military rule has morphed from protests to outright conflict, as armed factions aligned with Myanmar\u2019s many ethnic groups battle government forces for territorial control. Though many groups fight under the banner of the shadow government, the National Unity Government (NUG), the opposition has thus far proven ineffective at \u2014 and perhaps uninterested in \u2014 building the coalitions necessary to create a future democratic government, according to David Scott Mathieson, an independent analyst.”<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

“Given that the Tatmadaw controls all of Myanmar\u2019s state enterprises, including the oil, mining, and timber industries, it can \u2014 and will \u2014 continue its horrific campaign as long as those resources hold out, even as that battle plunges the country into extreme poverty.<\/p>\n

According to a 2022 report from the UN OHCHR, the Tatmadaw government \u201chas collapsed in many areas nationwide, the public health system has effectively broken down, and more than half of all school-aged children have not accessed education for two academic years.\u201d Ye Myo Hein, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and visiting fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, tweeted in late March regarding the fuel cuts and energy crisis affecting Myanmar, noting that, \u201cThe country has been experiencing increasingly frequent and disruptive power cuts \u2014 up to 14 and 15 hours a day in some areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

But neither side has the impetus to negotiate a solution so that Myanmar can rebuild its society and economy, nor does either have a particularly convincing vision for the future. If the Tatmadaw does manage to hold elections, they will be a sham and will convince few besides themselves of their mandate to govern.<\/p>\n

Should the resistance somehow outlast or defeat the regime, it will have to grow from a symbolic government-in-exile to a unifying political force capable of not only rebuilding the nation and its economy, but also establishing a diverse governing coalition that reflects the Burmese people\u2019s interests.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1416,1104,1395,1535,53,660,1168],"class_list":["post-10627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-share","tag-atrocity","tag-authoritarianism","tag-civil-war","tag-civilians","tag-deaths","tag-dictatorship","tag-myanmar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10628,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10627\/revisions\/10628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}