Bini Dahal

More than one and a half months have passed since Myanmar’s military junta took over power by deposing the elected government. Prominent democracy icon and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and various leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) have been detained and placed under house arrest.
The military junta's undemocratic move has triggered huge protests nationwide calling for the release of Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders and reinstating democracy in Myanmar. It is a matter of grave concern that the military junta has continued to crack down on peaceful protesters only to justify its unconstitutional coup. Scores of democracy lovers have been killed in the military suppressions while hundreds of others have been wounded.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 149 people, including children, have been killed in Myanmar since security forces clamped down on peaceful protesters. Initially, the major charge put on Suu Kyi by the military was the possession of walkie-talkies. Now the charge has gotten bigger with her being blamed for corruption. The military has accused her of accepting US$ 600,000 and 11-kg gold as bribe. This shows that the dictatorial rule seems to be justifying its coup in one pretext or the other.
An advocacy group called the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has stated that more than 2,100 people of different professions like journalists, human rights activists, government officials, trade unionists, writers, students and civilians have been arrested during the night time. Detaining silent protestors and trying to suppress their voices indicates an utter tyranny of the junta. Myanmar’s circumstance signals a misinterpretation and distortion of the meaning of 'democracy' as the junta has continued to blame peaceful protesters for creating instability and chaos in the country with more than 54 million population.
The military junta has prevented residents of urban areas from receiving any kind of information and has sealed off several key areas. According to international media reports, mobile network was cut all over the country for the second day on Wednesday. Creating a total blackout situation seems to be the military’s way of blocking any information from flowing outside. By doing this, the military wants to ensure that important stakeholders such as human rights activists and media organisations do not have the ability to assess and verify what is going on within the nation.
Since most of the protesters and journalists have relied upon mobile phones to live stream demonstrations and document police crackdowns, many fear such kind of tactic from the side of the military can lead to gross violation of human rights in Myanmar. But this situation has not truly received the kind of attention it deserves to get. This is mainly because the whole world is juggling with the COVID-19 pandemic induced crisis.
Even Nepal, a country that shares a really good equation with Myanmar has remained silent on this grave matter. What is pathetic is that democracy has been continually violated in Myanmar for long. It has destroyed Burmese people's right to live a dignified and happy life. The economy is in rubbles. Now, all we can hope for is a strong intervention. Several global personalities, including Pope Francis, raised their voice against the perpetuating violence against peaceful people. All the countries should immediately work to remove the tyrannical power-holder and reinstate democracy.