Myanmar on the Edge of a Humanitarian Crisis: Enduring a 75-Year Long Civil War
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a country located in Southeast Asia, distinguished by its composition of more than 100 ethnic groups and continuous conflict. Having gained independence from British rule in 1948, Myanmar was forced to adopt its own government, a feat found difficult to conquer with its multi-ethnic society. The Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military power, assumed governmental power short after their newfound independence from Britain, however, maintaining a power hold has been anything but seamless. Conflict between government forces and armed, non-state groups has plunged the country into a horrific crisis, placing millions of citizens into a state of emergency.
Internal strife within Myanmar has been ongoing since their emancipation from British rule. Myanmar’s government is comprised primarily of people who are ethnically Burman, as over two thirds of the country’s population are Burman, allocating them privileges of positions in government and the military due to their ethnicity. Civil war has followed since, as many ethnic groups face oppression and recognize the lack of privileges they receive in the face of Burman majority. In 1962, a general of the Burman militia known as General Ne Win led a coup that replaced the representative democracy of Myanmar with military rule. This military rule lasted for over 20 years, as military powers refused to abdicate government control despite major opposition. General Ne Win’s government instituted a new constitution in 1974 based on isolationist foreign policy and a socialist economic program, which resulted in rapid deterioration of the economic situation and plunged the country in a “black-market” economy.
In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of General Aung San, a Burmese politician and activist often regarded as a national hero, aided in forming the National League of Democracy (NLD), an opposition party against the government. Despite efforts to gain traction, Suu Kyi was detained and spent more than 15 years in prison before making her ascent back to Myanmar’s “de factor leader” in 2015. Suu Kyi won the 2015 election with the backing of the NLD, undeterred by the constitution in place, which prohibited her from adopting the official title of president and ended the military’s long-standing place in government.
Before the 2015 election returned Myanmar’s government to a state of democracy, revolutions and corruption presented themselves continuously throughout the country. In 2007, the “Saffron Revolution” took place, which was a widespread anti-government protest sparked form the rise in fuel prices. Shortly after, in 2008, the militia government instituted a new constitution that gave the military widespread powers over civilian rule, which is still in place today.
The Rohingya, a prominent Muslim group in Myanmar made up of more than one million members, has been a key player in the crisis that governs this country. Myanmar’s government for many years has refused to acknowledge the Rohingya as citizens, increasing the many discriminations this ethnic group faces and withholding rights to people of this Muslim group. Myanmar, a primarily Buddhist country, is home to a multitude of Buddhist nationalist groups, including the MaBaTha and the anti-Muslim 969 movement, which regularly hold boycotts of Muslim shops and call for the expulsion of Muslims from Myanmar. Following anti-Muslim riots in October of 2012, more than one hundred thousand Muslim Rohingyas were internally displaced, and thousands were killed. The increase in anti-Muslim sentiments has only further stoked the conflict between ethnic groups and the government, leading to a huge degree of Muslim displacement and violence continuous today.
Government conflict flared up again in 2021, when Myanmar’s military, officially acknowledged as the State Administration Council or the junta, reseized power from the NLD during a coup, kidnapping and detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and charging members of the NLD with corruption and a multitude of other crimes. Many believe that Aung San Suu Kyi failed the people of Myanmar, accusing her of defending the military’s abuses against the Rohingya and failing to return the country to a state of democracy.
This coup insighted many, persistent protests in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyidaw, in which citizens demanded the restoration of civilian rule and democratic government. The junta followed this coup by destroying entire villages believed to support the opposition, causing widespread fear and unrest. In October 2023, three prominent armed factions in the Northeast of the country joined forces to further confrontations with the government in the Northern Shan state. These forces are not the only ones at work, as another non-state armed group in the Rakhine State ended a truce with the government by launching an offensive against the military. The government responded to these oppositions by increasing airstrikes in civilian areas, which has left a collective 2.7 million people internally displaced, 800,000 of these people since October 2023.
This seventy-five year long civil war of Myanmar has had drastic effects of the economy and everyday citizens. In 2021, following the covid-19 pandemic and government coups, the economy shrank by nearly 20% and the healthcare and public service systems collapsed. Myanmar continues to face a severe shortage of healthcare workers and resources as well, as airstrikes have caused significant infrastructure damage resulting in continuous communication and electricity blackouts. According to reports, at least 287 attacks on hospitals, clinics and ambulances have been recorded between January and September of 2023. The continuous conflict combined with climate shock, inflation and disruption of markets has resulted in over 15.2 million individuals in Myanmar facing food insecurity, which has additionally worsened the ongoing devaluation of Myanmar’s currency, the kyat, by driving up costs of imported goods. Major disruptions to the agricultural industry have occurred as well, heavily affecting the livelihood of millions of people reliant on food production.
International humanitarian groups have attempted to aid Myanmar citizens as the country nears a full-fledged humanitarian crisis, however legal mandates imposed in 2022 placed limitations on these humanitarian groups, resulting in 50 humanitarian workers being detained in just the first half of 2023. The United Nations has recognized this crisis in Myanmar as well, although they have condemned the government in face of the military’s brutal crackdowns and abuses to the Myanmar people. Amnesty International continues to call on the UN Security Council in hopes that they will appoint the Myanmar crisis to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which holds the power to address the many acts of brutality against the Rohingya and crimes which occurred following the coup of February 2021.
Image courtesy of Mohammad Ponir Hossain via Reuters via Google Images, ©2017. Some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
