This February 1 marks two years since the military seized power in Burma, imprisoning democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking a brutal civil war that has left more than 2,800 dead and 13,000 civilians behind bars. . Elections are supposed to be held this year in the country.
Ask anyone on the street, they’ll tell you the same thing: General Min Aung Hlaing already sees himself as president, reports our correspondent in Rangoon, Juliette Verlin. In Burma, two years after the coup and the installation of his military administration, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister seems to be following the Constitution to which he is so attached, which pushes him to finally lift the state of emergency in the country, and to hold elections within the next six months. Most pro-democracy parties refuse to participate, so victory for the pro-military parties seems inevitable.
In Rangoon, the population census is almost complete, and the administration is taking the opportunity to check whether families are hosting one or two political opponents. Life resumed somehow, food prices doubled in two years, but wages remained the same.
The anniversary of the coup is lived with gloom, and part of the population has decided, like last year, to stay at home in a form of silent protest.
►Read also : Two years after the military coup, Burma on the brink
While in Rangoon a form of resignation reigns, the armed conflict continues in several regions of the country. Ethnic minority villages are still regularly bombed and burned.
► Read also : In Burma, the head of the junta calls on the armed ethnic groups to dialogue
Rape, a weapon of war
Inside the country, there are more than a million displaced people. Many women involved in the resistance movement are victims of rape, according to Nang Moët Moët, general secretary of the Burmese Women’s League.
” Women, especially those from ethnic minorities and those living in conflict zones, face many challenges. We have known military juntas in the past, but this one particularly targets and attacks women. The military commit rape and use rape as a weapon of war, including gang rape. Many children, sometimes younger than ten, are also victims of rape. There are also many assassinations, but women’s greatest fear remains sexual violence, which has taken on significant proportions since the military putsch. Women are raped, arrested, tortured and sometimes killed for their involvement in this revolution and this movement for democracy. »
The Burmese Women’s League calls on the international community to act against the junta, to transfer the culprits to international justice: ” They must answer for their war crimes and genocidal actions. »