Published on: 02/01/2023 – 07:51
This February 1 marks two years since the military took power in Burma, imprisoned democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked a brutal civil war that left more than 2,800 dead and 13,000 civilians behind bars. Elections are scheduled to take place in this country this year.
Ask anyone on the street and they will tell you the same thing: General Min Aung Hlaing already sees himself as president, reports our correspondent in Rangoon, Julia Verlin. In BurmaTwo years after the coup and the establishment of his military administration, the self-proclaimed prime minister appears to be following the constitution he is so attached to, which is urging him to finally lift the country’s state of emergency and maintain elections within the next six months. Most pro-democracy parties refuse to take part, making a victory for the pro-military parties inevitable.
In Rangoon, the census is almost complete and the administration is taking the opportunity to check whether families are harboring any political opponents. Life somehow went on, food prices doubled in two years, but wages stayed the same.
The coup anniversary is a gloomy one, and like last year, part of the population decided to stay at home in silent protest.
►Also read: Two years after the military coup, Burma is on the brink
While there is a kind of resignation in Rangoon, the armed conflict continues in several regions of the country. Villages belonging to ethnic minorities are still regularly bombed and burned.
► Also read: In Burma, the head of the junta calls on the armed communities to engage in dialogue
Rape, a weapon of war
There are more than a million displaced people within the country. According to Nang Moët Moët, general secretary of the Burmese Women’s League, many women involved in the resistance movement are victims of rape.
“Women, especially women from ethnic minorities and those living in conflict zones, face many challenges. We have known military juntas in the past, but this one specifically targets and attacks women. The military commits rape and uses rape as a weapon of war, including gang rape. Many children, sometimes under the age of ten, are also victims of rape. There have also been many assassinations, but women’s greatest fear remains sexual violence, which has taken on significant proportions since the military coup. Women are raped, arrested, tortured and sometimes killed for their part in this revolution and this pro-democracy movement. »
The Burmese Women’s League is calling on the international community to take action against the junta and bring those responsible to international justice: “They must answer for their war crimes and acts of genocide. »