Memories of Violence and a Call for Change: Understanding the Military Coup from the Perspective of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Southeast Myanmar

Memories of Violence and a Call for Change: Understanding the Military Coup from the Perspective of Ethnic Minorities in Rural Southeast Myanmar

Since the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) seized power on February 1st 2021, unlawfully ousting and detaining the newly elected National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the world has witnessed massive protests against the military coup. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have taken to the streets to show their opposition to the military’s actions and to call for the release of NLD government officials and the restoration of a civilian government. Ethnic minorities and human rights defenders in Myanmar have had an additional, equally pressing demand: abolish the 2008 Constitution. Ethnic minorities and human rights defenders in Myanmar know all too well that behind Myanmar’s civilian government stood a heavy military force holding unlimited power, legitimized and bolstered by the 2008 Constitution.