As the civil war in Myanmar drags on, most foreign governments appear to have concluded that the military regime will survive and that their own national interests dictate they should recognise it as the country’s government, writes Andrew Selth. Sham elections scheduled for later this year are likely to only highlight this attitude.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us …
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
When Charles Dickens wrote those words in 1859, he was thinking of the French Revolution, but they can also be applied to the civil war in Myanmar – considered by some observers to be another revolution. For the conflict there gives rise to feelings of both hope and despair. To many, the Burmese people have everything before them, but there are others who look at recent and likely future developments and are much less optimistic.
The hopeful signs have been widely publicised and are easily identified.
The nation-wide civil disobedience movement that arose spontaneously after the military coup of 1 February 2021 has managed to survive the junta’s brutal campaign against it. The opposition movement has created a shadow National Unity Government (NUG), which consists of 17 ministries and numerous other bodies, including at least four intelligence agencies and eight diplomatic missions overseas.
Please click here to read the full “A Tale of Two Myanmars” article published at AsiaLink, written by Griffith Asia Institute Adjunct Professor Andrew Selth.
