One year after the coup, the guilt and challenge for Myanmar’s exiles Military news

It took more than nine months for the military to perform coup Myanmar journalist Khit Thit chose to leave the country.

In the weeks after the generals took power, Khit Thit raced around Yangon, the country’s largest city, documenting the pro-democracy demonstrations that were taking place every day.

Authorities withheld the initial response to the protests, but security forces began within a few weeks. beating and arresting peaceful protestersthrowing live shots at the crowd, spreading snipers and performing live executions.

After the coup, Khit Thit, who was renamed to protect his identity, was witnessing a demonstration in Sanchaung, a narrow street plant north of downtown Yangon, when he escaped from police clutches. shelter in a nearby hotel. He came to the roof of an adjoining building, from where he saw the officer beating a protester hard while he begged for mercy.

The nights were not much better, with soldiers patrolling the neighborhoods at dusk and taking part in protests forcibly entering homes to arrest suspects.

“It was a really scary time. I couldn’t sleep at all, and I was constantly worried about being arrested, ”he said.

Khit Thit shared an apartment with several other journalists, but while some of them fled to the border areas, they joined one of the People’s Defense Forces (PDF). armed resistance against the coup, Khit Thit was left behind. He hoped to continue to report on the evolution of Yangon, but as the situation in the former capital became increasingly dangerous, he returned to his hometown of a rural home in Myanmar.

There were dangers, too.

Residents of Khit Thit knew he was a journalist, and one of them was worried that he might report him.

He made a plan to escape with his mother, intending to escape through a rear window and hide in a monastery if the authorities called.

After several tragic weeks, he decided to leave the country altogether, taking a flight to Bangkok, the capital of neighboring Thailand.

“I had so much anxiety, it wasn’t sustainable,” he said. “It was such a difficult decision. I didn’t want to go to another country, or leave my family like that. I also felt guilty because my friends were in the jungle fighting for their country, but I was just taking care of myself.

“Even when the plane was gone, even though I felt relieved, I also felt depressed, I didn’t know when I could return,” he said, adding that he didn’t even tell his friends in the jungle that guilt had left him.

Maung Lwin faced a similar experience. He was behind for several months after the coup, worried that he might be arrested before fleeing to Thailand.

“I felt guilty for being selfish,” Maung Lwin said. “It took me a long time to make that decision, and even though I could get away with it, I didn’t calm down.”

Living in fear

Since the coup, the lives of many in Myanmar have been completely overthrown. The economy has slowed, largely as a result of the coup, with the World Bank predicting a one-percent annual growth rate last week until September, down 18 percent from the previous 12 months.

The fear is also constant.

In response to widespread resistance to seizing power, the military has shown “great contempt for human life,” according to UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, torturing journalists, including “cleansing operations.” aimed at the peopleand non-discriminatory attacks “in areas populated by popular attacks and the use of heavy weapons.”

More than 1,500 people have been killed in the coup, including those killed in dozens of armed conflicts across the country, and the UN estimates that more than 300,000 have been displaced in the past year.

An unknown number has crossed the line.

Some protesters have taken up arms against the army, joining the People’s Defense Forces, an armed group of the civilian government of the National Union. [File: AFP]

Some who have the resources to do so, such as Khit Thit and Maung Lwin, have flown to nearby countries, for example. Thailand and India, on the other hand, has gone further because of concerns about their own security or lack of economic opportunities to return home.

Among them is Nickey Diamond, a prominent human rights activist before the coup. He left Yangon, then from Myanmar, when he was warned by army contacts that he was on their wish list.

He now lives in Germany with his family, pursuing a doctorate in a lakeside town in the south of the country, while continuing to work as an activist.

Diamond said he also felt deeply saddened when he left Myanmar, admitting that he was “guilty of the survivor” because “we were able to leave the country, but other people are left behind.”

But as he has been able to get away with it, he has also felt the responsibility to talk to friends and colleagues around the world about what is happening in his country.

“We have become a kind of ambassador to educate people about the situation in Myanmar. In other countries, I come across people who don’t know what’s going on, so it’s my job to tell them, ”he said, adding that the importance of this role has been exacerbated by the military government’s increasingly shrinking Internet. Myanmar.

“Not everyone has become an armed activist. Many people are still in the city with non-violent protests, and sometimes they need money to relocate. So what my colleagues need in my country, I’m helping with that, ”he said.

A “silent protest” was held in Yangon on Tuesday to mark one year since the military took power. The streets of Yangon were largely quiet except for military supporters who walked near the Sule Pagoda, while armed police blocked the road. [EPA]

In recent weeks, journalist Khit Thit has said that the guilt of leaving the country has diminished, and he has realized that his work as a journalist can help raise awareness about what is happening at home.

After examining many souls, he also told his friends in the deserted jungle.

“They were happy to hear that I was safe. I didn’t expect that, and it made me very happy, ”he said.

Like Diamond, he now hopes to use his time abroad to continue telling the truth about what is happening inside Myanmar.

“As a journalist, all I can do is show the real situation in my country to the people of Myanmar and to the world. Where I end up, I will do the best for my people, and I hope that by doing so I will help the military to remove itself from power, ”he said.