The crisis in Myanmar

More than four months after the military seized power in Myanmar, the United Nations General Assembly took the rare step on Friday of voting to formally condemn the February 1 coup and called for an end to arms dealing with the country.

The condemnation comes as UN officials express concern that the nation is on the brink of civil war, and as humanitarian conditions worsen for civilians. While significant, the vote itself revealed complicated geopolitics that may stymie a more forceful international response to the situation.

Su Thit has a table in a corner by the window in her home. She no longer sits there at night. “You never know when the bullets will fly,” she says.

She fears the Myanmar military might shoot at random. At 8 pm, when people still bang pots and pans in protest, security forces will sometimes fire at the sounds — with slingshots, stones, bullets.

Myanmar’s security forces killed at least seven people on Saturday after firing live ammunition at demonstrators protesting the country’s February military coup.

The casualties from the protests — which likely are underreported, experts say — indicate that the country’s military government is not backing down from using lethal force against pro-democracy protesters, despite intensifying condemnations from the international community.

Myanmar’s military government intensified its crackdown on the country’s pro-democracy protest movement on Sunday, firing at demonstrators gathered in Myanmar’s largest cities, and killing at least 18 people, according to the United Nations.

For nearly a month, a growing coalition of protesters has demanded the end of military rule in Myanmar, following a coup that led to the arrest of the nation’s civilian leaders on February 1. Demonstrations have taken place continuously across the country, taking the form of student protests, the halting of public transportation, and work stoppages that threaten to derail Myanmar’s economy.

President Joe Biden has announced that the United States is imposing sanctions on Myanmar’s military following its overthrow of the country’s civilian leadership in a coup last week.

Speaking from the White House on Wednesday, Biden detailed a three-pronged response his administration would be pursuing. The first is an executive order that imposes sanctions on the military leaders who organized and launched the coup, as well as their business interests and close family members. The first round of targets will be identified this week, he said.

When Joe Biden stood on City University’s stage in July 2019, the presidential candidate wasn’t just looking to give an address on his worldview. He was looking to make a statement about democracy and America’s defense of it worldwide.

“I will ensure that democracy is once more the watchword of US foreign policy — not to launch some moral crusade, but because it is in our enlightened self-interest,” he told the New York City crowd. “We have to champion liberty and democracy.”

Early Monday, Myanmar’s military took control of the government, arresting the de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her political allies in what the Biden administration has called a “coup.”

Now the military has announced formal charges against Suu Kyi. Her crime? Being in possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies. The charge carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

The Myanmar military overthrew its civilian government in a coup on Monday, ending the facade of democratic rule and creating an even more uncertain future for human rights in the country — especially the persecuted Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.

The aftermath of the coup is still unfolding, but human rights advocates and experts told me they are increasingly fearful of what might happen to anyone who challenges the regime.