In the past few days, a Myanmar kangaroo court sentenced country’s Nobel Prize winner and civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to a further six years imprisonment in addition to the 11 already handed down. In July, the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) regime executed four democracy activists, including a former lawmaker. While the regime is known to deploy harsh measures, this was the first time since the 1980s that any democracy activist was executed. The executions followed repressions by Tatmadaw that include solitary confinement of Suu Kyi, prolonged detention of Australian economist Sean Turnell, and use of heavy weaponry and air power in civilian areas against resistance groups.
In February last year, Tatmadaw arrested the entire civilian leadership, installed a State Administrative Council to govern the country, and hoped for smooth control, but the coup has met with fierce resistance. The current draconian measures imply that the regime is seriously concerned that it cannot define the future political process.
There is much diversity among the resistance; young adults, members of political parties, civil society, and even some government officials participate in the protests. There is a self-styled National Unity Government (NUG) of elected members of legislatures attempting to coordinate the resistance, and the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs), its armed wing, are conducting sporadic strikes on military targets.
