Myanmar awoke to the news on the morning of 1 February that the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, had detained the democratically elected leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), State Counsellor Aung San Su Kyi, and other members of her party and that the Commander in Chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, had declared that the Tatmadaw was now in charge of the country.  He went on to create a State Administration Council of Myanmar, appointing himself as Chairman, making him the country's de facto leader.  He has reimposed military rule and martial law and made claims of fraud in the nationwide General Election in November 2020, which saw a sweeping victory to the HLD. 

Since then, Myanmar has seen the emergence of a largely youth led Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), protesting the military takeover and demanding the release of Aung San Su Kyi and members of her party.

Communications across the country, including internet, mobile and telephone lines were severely disrupted on 1 February and since then have been consistently switched off between 1am and 9am every night.  A curfew has been imposed between 8pm and 4am, gatherings of more than five people in certain areas have been banned and several fundamental laws that constrained security forces have been suspended, including the requirement for a court order to detain prisoners beyond 24 hours, constraints on security forces’ ability to enter – and if need be damage – private property to search it or make arrests and the suspension of laws that hindered the ability of authorities to monitor all communications.  As a result of this, a number of websites and applications have been largely blocked, including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp so VPNs may be required to access these, the legality of the latter also being questioned.

Schools and universities have been physically closed for almost a year due to Covid-19 restrictions, while the latest disruptions have interfered with the ability of students to join online classes and access resources where they have been provided (only a limited number of HEIs have been in a position to provide remote learning).  Furthermore, a number of academics and others (including medical professionals) have joined the CDM, and entire higher education institutions have shut down in support of the CDM so formal education provision is further disrupted. 

However, there are still ways for people to remain connected and education remains a priority for many individuals and their families. The UK sector can expect their distance learning students to try to continue their studies but it is recommended that extended deadlines are offered and understanding of the challenges being faced is offered.

The British Council in Myanmar is revising some of its programme work in line with the UK government’s stance in response to recent events. Online English teaching continues, albeit with a very flexible timetable, while exams, including IELTS, are currently postponed until at least the end of March.  It has been agreed that a scholarship programme targeting women in STEM would continue as will any other activities with a specific people-to-people focus.

The UK sector is asked to bear the current disruption in mind when liaising with students and institutions in Myanmar but continue their support for individuals in line with guidance from our own government.