Democracy has never seen a smooth ride in Myanmar if its history is given a glance and the post-coup situation has again compelled all world attention to converge on the country. Besides the brutal crackdown on protesters by the military of the country who staged the coup, it is the exemplary zeal and determination of the people there in support of democracy that keep all attention alive and also in gathering global support which is growing. India must keep a close watch on the developments and repercussions, if any across the borders with Arunachal and other NE states must be countered. It’s still very uncertain whether democracy will return immediately or not, but, watching the turn of events, it is certain that more bloodshed is in the offing and most unfortunately, they might largely go unreported, due to the ‘capture’ of the Myanmar media. The first salvo from the junta arrived on Monday with five media companies there, all of which  were active in covering protests against the military coup being robbed of their licences.
The event is now more than a month old and it was on February 1 the military declared a year-long state of emergency after staging a successful coup and seizing all control of the country which was preceded by a general election in which Suu Kyi’s NLD party won by a landslide victory. There is a clear hand of the political players as the armed forces had backed the opposition who have been demanding a rerun of the vote with the allegation of widespread fraud. Although the Election Commission of Myanmar certified that there was no evidence to support these claims, the coup couldn’t be avoided and was enacted just ahead of the new session of the parliament. Military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing has taken power and has long wielded significant political influence, successfully maintaining the power of the Tatmadaw, the country’s military even though there was a hard-earned transition towards democracy. The mood of the current military regime is clear- it is not going to succumb to any international pressure. This has been evident from the fact that security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to break up a protest in Yangon on Saturday, just hours after a UN special envoy called on the Security Council to take action against the ruling junta for the continuing killings of protesters. Although the exact figure of those killed since the military seized power is still not definite, last Wednesday was the bloodiest with at least 38 killed. Suu Kyi’s immediate release is one of the foremost demands of the democracy-loving people of Myanmar along with the restoration of democracy.
The world, including India being the largest democracy must play more active roles so that the process of reclamation of democracy in Myanmar is expedited. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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