From striking civil servants on the run to rebels holed up in the dense jungle, AFP talks to five people whose lives have been upended by the coup and the two years of crisis.
- The medic -
Caroline put her dreams of attending university on hold and left home to join one of the "People's Defence Force" groups formed to fight the junta near the Thai border.
After just a month of training at a rebel camp, she was sent to the front lines to treat wounded fighters and endure a baptism of fire on the battlefield.
"Sometimes I treated an injured soldier and I was afraid, as I was not able to save him," she told AFP.
"I didn't know what to do because of the stress.
"I felt so depressed whenever I wasn't able to save a soldier. But I realised that I can't be depressed all the time. I have to think how to improve myself and how to save them next time."
She said one thing was keeping her going through all of the hardship.
"Even though I gave up many things, I will be satisfied if we get our democracy back."
- The grieving mother -
Like thousands of other young people enraged by the military putsch and crackdown on peaceful protests, Juu Tit's son joined a People's Defence Force and learned how to fight.
Her son's duties took him away from home for two to three months at a time as fighting raged around eastern Kayah state.
Months later, he died in combat, leaving his mother bereft, caught between pride and loss.
"He is dutiful for his family and country, but sometimes I think about him and I feel sad and can't hold back my tears," she said.
"I don't know about politics. I lost my young son, and when I see his friends, I cry," she added.
"After I raised him and cared for him his whole life, I feel lost now that he has gone."
- The engineer making soap -
Tun Aung left his job as a government civil engineer a few days after the coup and joined the "Civil Disobedience Movement" (CDM), which brought hundreds of thousands of workers out against the coup.
The junta responded with a crackdown, relying on tips from informers and surprise raids to round up those still on strike.
Tun Aung -- a pseudonym AFP is using to protect him from retribution by the authorities -- has spent the last two years in hiding, changing location frequently and unable to find another job.
"Sometimes, I was denied work even after they said I was appointed because I have been with the CDM," he said.
Struggling to feed his family, he now manufactures washing detergent and sells what he can.
- The radiologist dodging informants -
Aye Thida had been working as a radiologist at a Yangon hospital for eight years.
She joined the Civil Disobedience Movement two days after the coup and has not worked at the hospital since -- despite multiple letters from the government ordering her back.
But in her small hometown, being seen not working can be dangerous, she says, with junta informants everywhere.
"Everyone in my hometown knows me as a government employee," she said, also asking to use a pseudonym because of fears for her safety.
"Pro-junta people, like ward administrators, live on our street."
So she keeps a low profile and stays away from her family, living instead in safehouses or with friends for a few days at a time.
"I feel unsafe going back home."
- The rebel -
"The main difficulty is the trauma of our people," says Lin Lin, from another People's Defence Force group in the east of the country, which has seen heavy fighting between the military and anti-coup soldiers.
"When a soldier dies, every friend and family member of this soldier is depressed... We have to encourage them to be stronger."
Enduring air strikes and shelling from the better-equipped junta troops, he and his comrades are still united by a common purpose.
"These soldiers were strangers before this revolution, but they became brothers, family," he said.
"When an elected government is selected by the people, we will rest... We will all leave the revolution and we will do the jobs we wanted to do."
Two years of turmoil: Myanmar's coup
Yangon (AFP) Jan 31, 2023 -
Myanmar's military seized power on February 1, 2021, ousting the civilian government and arresting its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
More than 2,800 people have since been killed in the junta's bloody crackdown on dissent, according to the United Nations, while thousands more have been arrested.
Here is a look back at the two years since the coup, which ended a decade-long experiment with democracy after half a century of military rule.
- Pre-dawn raids -
Soldiers detain Suu Kyi and her top allies during pre-dawn raids on February 1 ahead of the opening of the new parliament.
The generals claim fraud in the November 2020 election, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.
Their actions spark global condemnation, from Pope Francis to US President Joe Biden, and soon the United States, European Union and others announce sanctions.
- Growing crackdown -
Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a young woman shot on February 9, dies 10 days later after becoming a national symbol of opposition to the junta.
Violent crackdowns on street protests escalate, and by March 11, Amnesty International says it has documented atrocities by the junta including the use of battlefield weapons on unarmed protesters.
A day later, a UN rights expert on Myanmar accuses the military of crimes against humanity.
- Deadliest day -
More than 100 civilians are killed in protest crackdowns on March 27, 2021 -- Armed Forces Day, the military's annual show of strength. It is the deadliest day since the coup.
The next month, ousted civilian lawmakers forced into hiding announce the formation of a shadow "National Unity Government".
- Suu Kyi's trial begins -
In June, more than four months after she was detained, Suu Kyi goes on trial in a closed junta court.
She faces an eclectic mix of charges, including illegally importing walkie-talkies and flouting Covid-19 restrictions during the 2020 elections.
- Election results cancelled -
In late July, the junta cancels the results of the 2020 polls, claiming more than 11 million instances of voter fraud.
- Suu Kyi jailed -
On December 6, Suu Kyi receives her first jail sentence -- four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid-19 regulations. The sentence is then cut to two years.
- Executions -
In July 2022, the junta announces it has executed a former lawmaker from Suu Kyi's party along with a prominent activist over allegations of "terrorism" -- the country's first use of capital punishment in decades.
The news sparks renewed outrage. A junta spokesman later says the pair, along with two others who were executed for allegedly killing an informer, "deserved many deaths".
- Lavrov visits -
Days later, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov visits and says Moscow backs the junta's efforts to "stabilise" the country and hold elections in 2023.
- Ex-ambassador arrested -
In August 2022, authorities arrest former British ambassador Vicky Bowman for allegedly breaching immigration rules.
The arrest came as Britain announced new sanctions on firms it said had helped raise funds for the military during its 2017 crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
Bowman and her husband, prominent artist Htein Lin, are later jailed for a year.
In November, they are freed in a mass amnesty, along with a Japanese journalist arrested at an anti-coup protest and an Australian former adviser to Suu Kyi detained since the early days of the coup.
- Air strikes -
In September, at least 11 schoolchildren are killed in a junta air strike on a school in the northern Sagaing region as the military ramps up the use of its air power.
In October, air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group kill about 50 people and wound 70, according to the Kachin Independence Army, which has clashed regularly with the junta since the coup.
- Suu Kyi trials finish -
After 18 months, Suu Kyi's trial wraps up on December 30 with a final jail term of seven years for corruption -- taking her total sentence to 33 years.
The junta gives no details on whether she will be allowed to serve her sentences under house arrest.
- Elections? -
In January 2023, the junta gives political parties two months to re-register under a strict new electoral law in the latest sign it is planning fresh polls this year.
The United States has said any elections would be a "sham". Close ally Moscow says it supports holding polls.
Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com
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