The Southeast Asian country is home to some of the world's longest civil wars, where myriad ethnic insurgencies have fought the military, central government and each other for greater rights and autonomy. Some of those bloody conflicts have ebbed and flowed in the borderlands for 70 years.
Determined to fight against those abuses and ensure their distinct voices and demands are heard, ethnic people have loudly joined the nationwide protests, uniting in solidarity against a common enemy. Though many fear further violence and intensified conflict from an unchecked military junta operating with impunity and now firmly in control of the country.
A group called the General Strike Committee of Nationalities was established to support the protests and be a central place for the many protesting ethnic minorities. Made up of 29 ethnic groups, the GSCN wants to end military rule, abolish the military-drafted 2008 constitution, build a federal democratic union and release everyone who has been unjustly detained.
Sang Hnin Lian said Chin people have been used as human shields in war in the past, and forced to porter or guide the military. Anti-coup protests have been ongoing in the Chin state capital Hakha and other areas. Lian said among the biggest demands are for a federal democracy and abolishing the 2008 constitution.
Since then, Myanmar's ethnic groups have fought for self-determination of their ancestral lands, where states are run by ethnic people, not by the central government in Naypyidaw.That long struggle is shared by the Karen, an ethnic minority who mainly live in the Irrawaddy Delta and hilly border regions with Thailand in the country's east.
"The coup evidently was well planned beforehand and we saw the pressure begin to build in the ethnic areas here in December of last year and January and then after the coup even more," Eubanks said."Right now the ethnic leaders felt not only are they trying to protect their people and protect the displaced but also they feel in solidarity with the pro-democracy and CDM in the cities and plains of Burma.
Khine, a Rakhine activist living in Yangon, said for many in the conflict-torn north of the state there is little difference between the military and the ousted NLD government, which backed the army's recent campaigns in the state.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.