Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, Myanmar, political science, history, international relations, sociology, diplomacy, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 9 December Zoom webinar on International Responses to Myanmar’s Post-2021 Aftermath.
The event, on Monday, 9 December 2024 at 1pm Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
The TU Library collection includes several books about different aspects of politics in Myanmar.
Students are welcome to register for the event at this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9417325985175/WN_GAUC7iBzQuSJNqsUrMnE3w#/registration
The event website explains:
About the Webinar
The 2021 military coup’s aftermath in Myanmar prompted international and domestic efforts using technology to bring about change and accountability in Myanmar. Myanmar’s military regime countered these efforts with technology, while also resorting to past regimes’ practices and rhetoric. The ongoing crisis in Myanmar after the coup will enter a fourth year in 2025, and highlights the need for external actors to rethink past aspirations for stability and growth in Myanmar, and the relationships among different political actors in Myanmar and between Myanmar and the world. ISEAS’ Myanmar Studies Programme invites three expert analysts to discuss the various responses by the international community to the multi-faceted crisis in Myanmar after the 2021 coup and the implications for continued responses or new approaches amidst shifting geopolitical and regional trends, the rise in technology, and leadership changes in several countries, while the Myanmar military regime pursues its intent to convene an election in 2025.
About the Speakers
Mr. Nicholas Coppel is a retired career diplomat with expertise in foreign affairs, cyber security, government relations, international trade, international development assistance, and public policy, especially in relation to Southeast Asian and Pacific Islands countries. He was Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar from 2015 to 2018 and is currently the President of the Australian Myanmar Institute.
Dr. Lennon Y.C. Chang is Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy at Deakin University’s Centre for Cyber Resilience and Trust and School of Information Technology. His research interests focus on the intersection of law and technology, cybercrime and cyber security, co-production of cyber security, disinformation campaigns, and foreign interference, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. He is working with governments and NGOs in ASEAN countries on research and training programs to build cybersecurity capacity and awareness.
Dr. Shona Loong is a senior scientist at the University of Zurich and an Associate Fellow in Southeast Asian Politics and Foreign Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). A political geographer studying conflict, peacebuilding and the politics of international development in Myanmar and its borderlands, Shona has conducted research for think tanks, non-profits, and international organisations.
Two years ago, Mr. Coppel published an article on The Strategist — The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog:
Excerpts:
On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing, mounted a coup detaining President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and numerous other National League for Democracy (NLD) politicians who were scheduled to convene that day to elect a new president. A state of emergency was declared and the right to exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers was transferred to the commander-in-chief.
Opposition to the coup was spontaneous and evident throughout the country and involved all age groups. International condemnation was swift. North American and European countries imposed sanctions on senior military personnel and military-owned businesses.
Min Aung Hlaing miscalculated the nation’s mood. The people had made it clear at the ballot box they wanted to be governed by Aung San Su Kyi’s NLD and not by a military-affiliated political organisation such as the Union Solidarity and Development Party. The peaceful protests, initially tolerated, didn’t subside and the military commenced a bloody crackdown. The people of Myanmar, addicted to their new limited form of democracy and enhanced freedoms, weren’t prepared to return to the dark days of incompetent military rule.
Local militias called People’s Defence Forces were formed and engaged in urban guerrilla warfare using explosives and targeted assassinations in response to the disproportionate use of force by the military. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says more than 2,100 people have been killed by security forces since the coup. Four more names have now been added to that toll […]
The killings have sent a chill throughout Myanmar and dampened hopes for a return to civilian rule.
Min Aung Hlaing abused Myanmar’s constitution by incorrectly claiming that the elections were not free and fair, that this amounted to a wrongful and forcible means of taking power, and that it was thus the military’s duty to declare a state of emergency. In another vain attempt at legitimation, he has announced that fresh elections will be held in mid-2023.
If elections are held, and we can never assume the commander will keep his word, they are likely to be boycotted by the NLD and will be held in an atmosphere of fear. That’s his cynical reason for carrying out the death penalty now. Brute force has failed to break the spirit of the people and the commander is desperate for a victory. His generals and the cronies’ business interests are hurting, and they won’t be acquiescent forever.
The elections are also likely to be held under a changed voting system favouring a military-aligned party. The outlook, then, is for a continuation of military rule either directly or through a proxy political party.
Here the commander miscalculates again in thinking the people will accept reversion to the decades of military rule. The Myanmar of today is very different from the Myanmar of a decade ago. A digital transformation has opened society to the world beyond hard borders. They have tasted freedoms, they have seen protests in other countries, and they know tyranny can be overthrown through people power.
And they have had enough. The People’s Defence Forces have formed links with ethnic armed groups for training and access to safe havens. Increasingly, calls are being made for international assistance to move beyond the humanitarian and to include military equipment. If for Ukraine, they ask, why not for Myanmar? So far, there’s no sign of military assistance being provided to the militias, but the calls for it indicate that the pro-democracy movement remains opposed to a negotiated settlement, as does the military, and no end to the conflict is in sight.
The international community has strongly supported ASEAN efforts to help Myanmar find a peaceful solution that returns the country to democracy […]
All the international community’s statements of concern and condemnation and ASEAN efforts have failed to end the violence or reverse the coup. European and North American sanctions and non-government organisations’ advocacy have similarly failed. Myanmar’s military has again shown that it’s impervious to international pressure and opprobrium. It will bunker down and resist both the people’s wishes and foreign pressure.
This does not mean the world should sit on its hands and watch Myanmar descend further into chaos. Statements and sanctions serve purposes other than regime change. They are a statement of a nation’s values, they express the international community’s expectations of acceptable conduct by governments, and they are a message of solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
The harsh reality is that change will only come from within Myanmar and, given the strength of the military relative to its opposition, only from within the military itself. This is all the more reason to increase pressure on Myanmar’s military leadership.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)