The 4th of January is Myanmar\u2019s Independence Day, but 74 years after the country cast off British rule, many people see little reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n
In every year since 1948, Independence Day has been a major national holiday, with celebrations occurring all over the country, even during Myanmar\u2019s long history of military control. But the coup last February that ousted a democratically elected government has overshadowed any warm feelings about the long-ago victory over colonialism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no celebrations here in Shwepyitha or Insein,\u201d a resident of Shwepyitha township in Myanmar\u2019s largest city Yangon told RFA\u2019s Myanmar Service Tuesday. \u201cNo one in our community is celebrating at all. I didn\u2019t even know it was Independence Day today.<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides, we\u2019re not free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since seizing power, the military junta has violently suppressed public dissent, killing 1,435 people and is currently holding 8,385 more in detention according to statistics from the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The junta, led by Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, took over the country on unproven claims of fraud in the 2020 elections, which Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s ruling National League for Democracy Party won in a landslide.<\/p>\n
Now that Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted of incitement and is serving a two-year prison sentence, the mood this year is very different from last.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are scared and are not daring to do anything at all because our political situation is bad,\u201d Daw Shwe Moe of Yangon\u2019s Tamwe township told RFA.<\/p>\n
Last year, spirits were high across Myanmar on Independence Day, with widespread celebrations and optimism that the country was on a sturdier path to democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndependence Day is over. Though it is Independence Day, we are not free, so we will not celebrate,\u201d said the Mandalay resident, who declined to be named. \u201cEven under previous military dictatorships we have seen many Independence Days, but this year\u2019s is the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n
The source said the streets of Mandalay, Myanmar\u2019s second largest city, were eerily quiet.<\/p>\n
Celebratory events went on under previous dictatorships, but this year there has been nothing, a college professor who requested anonymity due to his association with the Civil Disobedience Movement told RFA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were young during the days of Burmese way to socialism, there were always events they held to make the people feel they were free even though they weren\u2019t,\u201d the professor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two reasons why people are not celebrating this important day,\u201d the professor said. \u201cFirst, people have lost their independence and they are not happy at all. Secondly, the junta would not dare to go out and about in their military uniforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jubilant celebrations require happy people, and happy people are in short supply, Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, told RFA.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsidering the various hardships, the people had to face throughout 2021, and how their brothers and sisters, friends and relatives and neighbors were killed or arrested and tortured, there is nothing for them to be happy about,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are not doing anything today as they want to show their sadness in a country that is not peaceful and happy.”<\/p>\n
Collapse imminent<\/p>\n
The crisis in Myanmar has the country on the verge of collapse, analysts say. Widespread destruction from the armed conflict between the junta and anti-coup forces, combined with economic instability, paint a bleak future for the country, they said.<\/p>\n
Junta spokesman Maj. Gen Zaw Min Tun did not accept the assessment that the country was on the verge of collapse. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the definition of a failed state? I would like you to compare with other countries how they define it,\u201d he told RFA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to say that the SAC is carrying out in many places its own administration and judicial process in accordance with the rule of law,” he said, using the acronym for State Administration Council, the name the military government uses for itself.<\/p>\n
But in areas that had been peaceful, people are now joining local militias that are part of the People\u2019s Defense Forces (PDF) to fight against the military, and the destruction of the conflict is spreading.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started our armed struggle, there was not enough money to buy weapons. We had to rely on locally made Tumee rifles,\u201d said Boh Nagar, leader of the PDF in the Sagaing region\u2019s Pale township.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow the enemy has had to change weapons from small arms to heavier ones and has started using tanks and planes to attack the people. We are responding to them with landmines and locally made long-range missiles and rockets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe battle is becoming more and more violent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, a local research group, said about 61% of the country is embroiled in armed conflict. Before the coup, 65% of the country was peaceful.<\/p>\n
\u201cInsecurity is on the rise,\u201d Min Zaw Oo, the group\u2019s director, said. \u201cAs a result, security problems have exacerbated, but it hasn\u2019t reached the level of violence like in Syria where cities were burnt down, and half of the country’s population had been displaced. We are a weak state but have not yet reached the level of a failed state.”<\/p>\n
But an economist who declined to be named told RFA that Myanmar\u2019s economy has never been worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe World Bank has estimated that our economy will shrink by 18% following the coup. We think this could be very damaging. The economy declined by only 11% even during the 1988 uprising,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at our country now, there\u2019s no rule of law nor civilian rule here. Everything is going down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Investment from foreign countries is down. As many as 21 foreign companies have abandoned their operations the country, including those from the U.S., Germany, Japan, Norway, Britain, Australia, and several Asian countries.<\/p>\n
“The country is headed for failure. Social services, businesses, education and health care are in total disarray,\u201d political analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe told RFA. \u201cCash flow is not in order. Social cohesion in society has been greatly impacted. There is very little opportunity for people to set goals and achieve success in life. All these issues are ruining the country. They are the hallmarks of a failed state.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036Radio Free Europe–Copyright (c) 2015. RFE\/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 4th of January is Myanmar\u2019s Independence Day, but 74 years after the country cast off British rule, many people see little reason to celebrate.In every year since 1948, Independence Day has been a major national holiday, with celebrations occurring…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n