Myanmar’s junta consolidates power: How Min Aung Hlaing’s presidency masks military impunity and systemic violence

Indigenous Karen, Kachin, and Chin communities have documented the junta’s atrocities for decades, framing resistance as a struggle for self-determination rooted in customary land rights and spiritual connection to territory. The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have historically been denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law, a policy that the junta has weaponized to justify ethnic cleansing. Traditional justice mechanisms, such as *shalish* (village councils) in Rakhine State, are systematically dismantled by the military, erasing indigenous legal pluralism.

Myanmar’s military has maintained uninterrupted power since 1962, with the 2021 coup marking the latest iteration of a cyclical pattern of repression following brief democratic openings (e.g., 1990 elections, 2015 NLD victory). The 1982 Citizenship Law, which stripped the Rohingya of rights, parallels apartheid-era policies and reflects a long-standing state project of ethnic homogenization. The 2008 Constitution, drafted by the junta, enshrined military impunity by reserving 25% of parliamentary seats for the armed forces, ensuring no civilian oversight.

In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, the military frames itself as the protector of *Theravada* values, using nationalist rhetoric to justify violence against non-Buddhist minorities like the Rohingya. Comparatively, in Indonesia, the military’s role in politics during Suharto’s New Order (1965–1998) shows similar patterns of impunity, where economic elites and foreign investors (e.g., U.S. and Japanese corporations) benefited from repression. In contrast, Thailand’s 2014 coup and subsequent legal maneuvers to shield the monarchy from accountability highlight how Southeast Asian elites use legal fictions to evade justice.

Research by the *International Crisis Group* (2023) and *Fortify Rights* (2022) documents the junta’s systematic use of sexual violence, forced displacement, and aerial bombardments as tools of war, meeting the criteria for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute. The *United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar* (2018) concluded that the military’s operations in Rakhine State constitute genocide, with evidence of mass killings, rape as a weapon of war, and the destruction of cultural heritage. Satellite imagery analysis by *Human Rights Watch* (2021) confirms the burning of over 39,000 Rohingya homes in a coordinated campaign.

Burmese artists like *Htein Lin* and *Zun Ei Phyu* use performance and installation to memorialize victims of military violence, framing resistance as an act of spiritual defiance against state terror. The *Thanaka* tradition—where women apply a paste to their faces for protection—has been co-opted by the military as a symbol of Burman identity, erasing its indigenous roots among ethnic groups like the Shan and Mon. Buddhist monks, such as *U Gambira* (a leader of the 2007 Saffron Revolution), have been arrested or defrocked for opposing the junta, turning spiritual leadership into a site of political resistance.

Scenario modeling by the *Crisis Group* (2024) suggests that without targeted sanctions on the junta’s revenue streams (e.g., oil/gas exports, gemstones), the military will continue to fund its operations indefinitely, prolonging the conflict. A potential future involves a fragmented Myanmar, where ethnic armed organizations and pro-democracy forces establish parallel governance, akin to the *de facto* autonomy of the Karen National Union in eastern Myanmar. Climate change exacerbates resource conflicts, as the junta’s control over hydroelectric dams (e.g., Myitsone) and deforestation for agriculture fuels displacement and resistance.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Malaysia have organized shadow governments and documentation networks to preserve evidence of atrocities, despite being denied formal political representation. Ethnic women leaders, such as *Naw Hser Hser* of the Karen Women’s Organization, have documented gender-based violence as a tool of war, yet their testimonies are often sidelined in international forums. The *National Unity Government* (NUG), formed by ousted lawmakers, includes representatives from ethnic minorities, but its legitimacy is undermined by the junta’s control over state institutions and foreign recognition.