Research for Tatmadaw and Rohingya Crisis

Research §

Meeting: May 22, 2021 9:00 PM

Tatmadaw: official name of military (navy, air force, army)

NLD: National League for Demoracy is dominant political party (landslide victory in 2015) overthrew in 2021

Coup: (Feb 1 2021) Tatmadaw overthrew NLD §

Result:

• ‘proclaimed’ 1 year state of emergency
  • ‘declared’ result of Nov 2020 election invalid due to election fraud
  • will hold election after state of emergency
  • transferred power to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing
• Elected politicians are imprisoned
  • Arrested President Win Myint
    • Symbolize for Suu Kyi
    • breaching campaign guidelines
    • breaching COVID-19 restrictions (25, NDML)
  • State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi
    • defacto leader
    • breaching emergency COVID-19 laws
    • illegally importing and using radio devices
      • 6 ICOM
      • 1 walkie-talkie
    • 2 charges of violating communications laws
    • violating National Disaster Act (16 Feb)
    • intent to cite public unrest (1 Mar)
    • violating the official secret act (1 Apr)
• Protests
  • 800 civilians killed, 4,000 arrested
• China is believed to be backing the coup
  • Blocked UN from condemning Myanmar
  • But backed statements calling for reinstatement of Democracy

2021 Myanmar coup d’état - Wikipedia

Rohingya Crisis §

189,660 families (884,041 individuals) who left Myanmar for Bangladesh

• Most settled in Cox’s Bazar’s refugee camps (Bangladesh)
  • UNHCR managed
  • Unofficial settlements

Feb 2021: UNHCR tracked 878,000 Rohingya in the camps

Problems:

• Intentional fires, fear government is pushing residents to leave
  • Barbed wires preventing refugees from fleeing fires quickly
• Bangladeshi government try for refugees to move to island in Bay of Bengal, built to house Rohingya refugees
  • 13,000 moved
  • Are in path of cyclone
  • Are treated like prisoners
• COVID-19 cases increase rapidly
  • Stricter restrictions → bad mental health

Rohingya Refugee Crisis - Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Proposals §

Election §

• release of political prisoners
• restoration of democracy: guarantee an election by the end of the year?

Security §

• Civil war? between who? why: coup?
  • negotiation, agreement between both sides
• Violent protests against the military
  • ending killing of civilians

Economic §

• Solve currency depreciation
  • Banking crisis

$\begin{array}{l}\bullet \text{ Private companies don’t get service}\\ \to \text{ lower wages, lower governmental income}\\ \bullet \text{ FDI withdraw business}\end{array}\}$ Getting stability in place

Speeches §

1. Social crisis
2. Rohingya Crisis
3. Humanitarian issues